


Falling down and Getting Back up

by Quxxnrandomness



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Badass half-sister, Banshee Powers, Celtic Pantheon is awesome, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Christmas Dinner, Demeter is an ass, Disney References, Drunken adventures in Ireland, Eating Disorders, Egyptian Gods are idiots, F/M, Fluff, Full Shift Werewolves, Gratuitous Smut, Hamilton References, Hazel is Princess witch of the underworld, Hazel loves to smoke, Hera is queen bitch, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Homosexuality, Infertility, Kidnapping, Loneliness, M/M, Married Life, Mean Girls References, Meeting the Queen and stealing her mug, Mercy Killing, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, Nico is a Prince Cinnamon Roll of the underworld too, Other Pantheons, Persephone is awesome, Pirates, Polyamory, Post-The Heroes of Olympus, Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Public Nudity, Racism, Racist Language, Recovery, Skinny Dipping, Smoking, Soul Bond, Spirit Animals, Suicidal Thoughts, The Zhang family are badasses, Threesome - F/F/M, Vampire Turning, chicken nuggets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-04 02:03:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 76,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12760866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quxxnrandomness/pseuds/Quxxnrandomness
Summary: I don't like Persephone being portrayed as a selfish-cow so here she is being motherly to Nico, who gets many hugs and kisses, and Hazel, who is so badass she's a Princess. Also some angst appears, Demeter is a bitch to the House of Hades, everyone hates Hera, Hades is cool, Hestia is a prankster genius, Hecate is queen of snark and I love this world. The basic premise for this work is working through pain; emotional (Nico Di Angelo), physical (Persephone) and spiritual (Hazel Levesque) with a heck ton of references, supernatural creatures, gayness, gratuitous violence, sex, drugs and smoking involved. Most of the work is supported by my Pinterest page which shows a lot of the details behind my work and explains better, under Rebecca Collins (it has a house thing on fire in the picture and loads of pins connected to it.





	1. POV - Persephone

**Author's Note:**

> This is set before Trials of Apollo but after Heroes of Olympus. There is swearing, references to suicidal tendencies, racist/homophobic language, hate crimes, other pantheons, and other disturbing triggers so be warned. I don't own this world, Rick Riodan is a genius, and I hope you enjoy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this is definitely NSFW territory straight off the bat. There will be sexual explicit content in this work and a lot of it with be detailed so just warning you now for all of that just in case. Now; this work is a consequence of my own interpretation of Rick Riodan's world but a lot of its themes are adult so Trigger Warning in place for: Racism, Sex, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbian Sex, Gay Sex, Polyamory, and flash-back references to sexual assault as well as some references dotted here and there. I've changed up the ages a little because I still feel a little weird at having a 13 year old Hazel go for a 16 year old Frank - it's a little creepy so here she is fourteen-about to go onto fifteen and he is 16 years old exactly. Also the time period is just after Heroes of Olympus with no Trials of Apollo because Rick isn't finished with it and I don't want to constantly revise everything as a result. A/N: This is a work in progress so be aware of some revision of chapters at time to time.

_**Falling down and Getting back up ** _

_**By R. L. Collins ** _

* * *

_I can do this, I am a Goddess of Springtime, Queen of the Underworld and the dreaded Lady of Destruction, I can do this._

Persephone opened her eyes and allowed herself a small intake of breath as she started her journey across the Fields of Punishment in complete silence as she tried to ignore the screams of the damned. Her small hands clenched the folds of the coarse material of her shielding cloak that hid her from the prisoners around her; a wedding gift from Artemis herself to help her travel the world during the midnight hours of late winter without observation so she could go about preparing the earth for the coming spring without anyone knowing. Her bare feet made not a sound as she travelled the secret road through the torture meadows for since she was a child she had always had a lightness to her step where she could travel in event the deepest of snow and yet leave no trail behind nor sink into the frozen tundra's of the tops of the mountains of Greece in her search for winter flowers when her mother was away on business. Her slightly pointed ears picked up even the smallest pebble falling around her, so alert was her senses as she kept her eyes focused and ahead of her so as to be ready if one of the more violent prisoners were to interfere in her journey. Truly, she would prefer to travel by the more safer roads but her mission tonight had to be done in secrecy and in complete discretion in fear of gossip ruining her pristine reputation so she kept to the shadows and away from the light.

Finally reaching the edge of the fields of Punishment, she quickly located the hidden passageway that led all the way up to her husband's Palace with more than a little relief over not being disturbed by the mortals she'd passed by. The passageway was a secret that Hades had taught her many eons ago; a winding road meant to serve as an escape in case of the Palace being overrun by enemies cut deep into the rock so that only the most daring of individuals would choose it for the pits of fire below and the unsteady steps discouraged all others. The Palace was being watched by a great deal of undead soldiers chosen directly by her husband but Persephone knew their scheduled movements and found it almost effortless to slip into their shared chambers without being detected. Torches of green fire sparked and began to burn in her presence but she quickly adjusted them to glow a crimson red as her preference allowed as she folded up the cloak to place on a nearby obsidian and crystallised glass coffee table before readjusting the thin scraps of fabric that clothed her lithe body.

For eighty years Persephone had begrudgingly respected her husband's want to abstain from their marital bed in favour of sleeping alone so as to grieve his precious Maria Di Angelo. Truly, she was glad that he did not touch her in those early years because of her jealousy and hatred for his mistress had made the mere thought of his touch foul and unpleasant to think about. He had lusted after a mortal woman and had given her two children to bare witness to his wanton desire to betray their marriage vows - something Persephone had found difficult to bare but as it was pure lust and not love she had accepted the separation with ease so as to let him have time to wash off that Italian whore's scent before he would come to her again. That was the deal, a couple of years grace so that he could reconcile himself with his slut's demise and then would come willingly and eager to their bed without delay. Only there was a delay - eighty years of it - and each one of those years had made Persephone more and more furious at the lack of attention or care he'd shown her and now she found herself reaching the conclusion that perhaps he did not know how to approach her now or mistakenly thought her indifferent to their lack of intimacy so was his nature.

Hades, after all his Godly power and influence over one of the biggest domains in the Olympian world, was still as nervous about even talking about activities reserved for the bed chamber - a trait Persephone found endearing and sweet. He fumbled and stuttered terribly the first time they had been given time alone together after their wedding and on the night they were to consummate their love; Persephone had delighted in gaining his virginity as he took hers with glee. She loved his tenderness towards her body, his sweetness of his scared yet anxious smiles as he approached her that night with words of love and adoration on his pure lips. Truly, he was one of the most chaste and innocent of men she'd ever beheld and she loved the opportunity it gave her to inform him of her more amorous side. She gained his lust that wedding night by teasing him with an innocent game of chase that she'd loved ever since her early years playing with the nymphs and minor Goddesses in her mother's domain - sweetly making his blood sing in want for her as she darted through the walls of their home with a joyful shriek of giggles as he ran after his wife with all the grace of a bull in want for the rut. Oh how she loved to use the skills of her youth to encourage his vigour as they collapsed into the warm sheets of their bed in a sprawl of hair and bodies as he gained his revenge by tickling her into hysterical hiccups and giggles with hands so warm and gentle that she did not hide her wanton desire for them as she pulled them seductively towards her mouth to give small nips and seductive sucks to his groaning delight.

She then tempted him more into the warm haven of her spread legs that night by recounting in a perfect coy and innocently lustful manner about her first strains of lust she'd gained from said games of chase. She told him of the day when she accidentally came across one of her handmaidens locked in an impassioned state with her mortal lover who looked at her with such desire that Persephone found herself stripped bare of her virgin innocence in exchange for a new seductive desire for something like that for herself. Hades had listened with awed desire as she told him of the thoughts of desire she'd experienced that day to find the pleasure of skin upon skin, the gentle groans and mewls escaping lover's mouths, and the bliss that she'd seen come over them both as they reached their wanton ends. She wanted to have someone to drive into her with the mortal man's power, to feel herself be lifted above and below him, as she pulled him into her deepest parts where only she herself knew. To have that blush radiate down her dark breasts as sweat gathered upon her brow at the strenuous activity, mixing her own body's desire with that of a man who'd give her everything she had ever dreamed of in exchange for knowing her as only a bedfellow could. To feel her lover's milk spray between her thighs as she locked her legs around him to preserve the feeling of bliss he would give her. Persephone's wanton desire had been born that day, as she told him, to the point where she had slipped off towards her rooms to satisfy her own new-born curiosity. Her hands, she empathised sadly, were not as skilled nor as sufficient as an alternative to what looked like a very large piece of a man's anatomy but in that moment of passion she did not care. Her first blissful escape away from maidenhood, a small but muffled cry of relief, and it was all hers - and Hades had found himself enrapted by the tale as he sucked and licked at her body as his cock rubbed against her wet thighs slicked with sweat and the sweet womanly cream he'd pulled from her. Then they made love for a full two weeks of blissful delight; pulling thousands of words of delight, mewls, groans and more than a few hiccupping laughs which had brought them so much joy.

Persephone rubbed her thighs together as she recalled it all, and hoped will all her heart that tonight could rekindle that loving devotion of their early years of marriage ... perhaps even this time she could finally achieve another dream of hers to bare her husband's child. Then he would love her truly forevermore as his trueborn Wife, Queen, and the Mother of his legitimate heir. To that end, Persephone quietly went to work on preparing for a ritual she'd heard said about by some travelling Slovakian immortals on their way to a hunt that would possibly allow her this victory. The ritual was simple enough; combining the elements of the world together and placing the result under the marital bed with a few whispered spells to guide the magic to her awaiting womb so she quickly started by taking possession of a nearby paper knife on her husband's desk to drip a small drop of her golden blood onto a small empty goblet inscribed with lustful images of lovemaking. The small cut into her thumb healed quickly and caused very little notice to the Goddess as she added a small crushed handful of Pomegranate tree leaves from the small plant in the corner to represent earth, a small amount of rose water taken from her personal bottle in the bathroom to represent water, a lit cinnamon scented aromatherapy stick from the crystal vase on top of the bedroom's impressive looking fireplace to represent fire, and finally a small Raven's feather from the balcony from the domesticized flock her husband owned to represent air. "With humble mind, I call to thee. With willing heart, I long for thee. Child of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Sea - into my life, I welcome thee!" she chanted as she mixed the blood, feather, seeds, rose-water and scented stick into a thick brownish mixture with her finger before placing the enchanted goblet under her bed as she let loose a desperate prayer for this endeavour to work.

She fidgeted again as cleaned off the dirtied finger in the bathroom to rid herself of the mixture's remainers before taking a long and hard breath to calm herself. She then re-arranging the fabric that covered her as she draped herself over the chasse lounge that they had won in a drunken game of cards with a certain French mistress who's breasts (Persephone was sure to say) were not the shape of Champaign glasses but rather as two beautiful apples that Persephone had the pleasure of biting quite happily. That blessed lady, full of charm and invigorated wit, had won Persephone's heart as soon as she walked through the doors of Versailles and the night of their traditional game of cards - she had been daring enough to ask her husband if he wouldn't mind for them to retire with the lady for a night of pleasure Persephone was sure she'd never forget. The way that most extra-ordinary of beauties had looked under her as she trembled against the white sheets of her boudoir thanks to the Goddess' talented tongue while Hades' rutted away behind them with groaning enthusiasm was wonderful to behold. The feeling of her soft skin, the way she bit her lip as the pleasure over took her, and the mewls of contentment as Hades finally milked himself dry onto their shared skin was beyond what words could say. Honestly; Persephone had felt herself ready to call the Madame her feminine soulmate at that point - the sweet candle of light that burned deep within the confines of her soul - which furthered the blow when her life was tragically blown out thanks to a mysterious illness. Persephone would have just continued the arrangement happily after her passing; but tragically since she was a true Christian - she had passed on into a different realm of death that was closed to Persephone's pleas rather than the Isles of the Blessed which Persephone was sure she deserved. Then came the dark days after when Persephone closed off her heart to her husband's antics in grief and accepted that his lustful ways were a direct response to losing both of them to grief and death respectfully.

But now she was ready to try again; ready to shake off her grief and relight the happiness that her husband had given her in their marriage bed and allow him back into her ardent heart.

Persephone took up a seductive pose reminiscent of the nude modals of Paris as she awaited her husband in eager nervousness. The torches on the walls filled the chamber with a seductive crimson glow that gleamed on the pieces of gold that Persephone had chosen for the reconciliation of her marriage; creating a fierce image of lust that would more than likely stir his loins to her purpose. She had prepared so carefully for this moment, and had perfectly tailored herself to her husband's tastes without fail. She'd endured hours of pain in the waxing parlours of Olympus, took several scented baths in the hot springs of Volcanos, and had even suffered the awkwardness of walking into a mortal lingerie high-end shop to buy the clothes she wanted her husband to unwrap her in. The lingerie was made specifically for this night, having been handmade in excruciating detail by the very best of craftswomen under the impression Persephone was buying it for a ultra-wealthy middle eastern lover thanks to the expensive cost of getting it done quickly and with the finest of materials known to man or immortal.

It consisted of a beautifully elegant bustier made of the finest black satin with real golden silk thread embroidery that depicted floral designs of lilies and golden roses, matching panties with hosiery that allowed for a knife sheath that Hades' had a special appreciation for when he was allowed to use it to cut the lingerie from her body if he was good, and a show stopping Satin kimono that reached just past her feet so it lingered on the floor when she stood with extra lace detailing around the short-sleeves in matching floral designs to the bustier. On her exposed right arm was one of her most prized possessions; an enchanted bracelet in the style of a coiled viper with glowing ruby eyes and a length of black onyx scales tinted with the finest gold along the edges for a body that was given to her as another joint wedding present by Hestia and Hecate. The viper was alive in a way with Hecate personally making it capable of becoming a lethal weapon if necessary in combat in that it would slither down her hand so she could whip her opponent and allow the small head to strike with a bite that delivered a specialised poison that could take down even an Olympian for a few hours so she could kill or run away from potential attackers. In it's prone form, it took the shape of the Greek symbol of eternity, the Ouroboros, which meant it was curled into a circle or hoop, biting its own tail which the girls had joked reminded them of Persephone's tendency to bite when aggravated or put her own foot in her mouth when nervous as she at times spoke without thinking. Finally, on her left hand in pride of place was her wedding ring that had never been removed except for cleaning. The ring's top was shaped in the likeness of a half of a ripe pomegranate and set with 10 garnet oval cabochons and a silver shank designed to look like the pomegranate branch with a small pomegranate fruit which adorned with a 1.6mm faceted red garnet. Overall; it was admittedly garnish and slightly ugly in modern times, but Persephone had always thought its' design to be a perfect reminder of the things she was prepared to do in order to have her way and a way to secretly state the truth that she had purposely eaten the seeds which had 'captured' her and 'imprisoned' her in the underworld with Hades despite her mother's wishes.

In all; the image created was that of a Queen bound forever to her King and Lord husband who according to the noises outside was about to enter. Persephone took a deep breath in as she pushed up her cleavage and mussed her hair into the most seductive Parisian style possible as Hades entered the room, muttering adorably to himself under his breath while riffling through papers. For a moment, it seemed like he hadn't even noticed her presence as he went about his normal solitary night-time routine as he put his work away in the drawer of his desk and took a small gulp of red wine from an awaiting crystal decanter to clear away his thoughts of the day. She watched him with a seductively coy smile as he yawned slightly into his hand before turning towards his bed.

And caught sight of her.

Persephone delighted in the physical jaw-drop of her husband as his eyes raked over her form with shock and awe, taking extra time on her pronounced breasts and muscled legs, as he struggled to find words to fit his surprise. She smirked as his breath caught when she slowly rose from her prone position so she could slowly strut with a pronounced wiggle of her hips towards him. The floor was cold under her feet but somehow that kept her centred as she kept her face as blank yet coy as possible under his intense stare. Truly, if he wanted, he could render any woman to maddening desire with those beautifully haunting black eyes that hooked onto her soul so long ago and had possessed her ever since. She studied him with a burning wanton desire as she noted the way his hand clenched and unclenched with obvious want to take her in hand and bend her over something without delay so that his bulging problem could be dealt with in the most bestial of ways. Her husband had the stamina of a raging bull when tempted, giving long and powerful strokes that seemed to go on forever as he would pound into her with a fury not fit for public consumption. His favourite designer suit fit him to perfection, highlighting his firm frame and creating an aura of power that belonged to him as her King and Master but Persephone knew the truth. In their bed, she was master and he her humble servant bound to please and serve to her mercurial will. His tie was a very catching detail, Persephone made a mental note to use it soon to restrain him to the bed if he ever got out of hand and touched when she directed otherwise.

As soon as she was within range of his body; Persephone pulled at the suit's soft flaps so her skin was within a milimeter of his as her face brushed softly at his cheek with a delicate-barely there glancing friction that made his eyes go impossibly dark with desire. Her lips nuzzled his cheek as she spoke in a low purr; "You are so cruel to me, my Lord!", that made his eyes flutter and his body begin to shake with anticipation. Her left hand caressed his chest with feather like touches in slow and maddening circles around his pecs and hard nipples; driving him to let out a pronounced groan of pleasure as her breath grew hot on his neck and her leg 'accidentally' graized his inner thigh as she curled around him like a cat. "Do you take pleasure in my agony, my Lord, in knowing that you have made me so displeased in my solitude on earth that I have crept into our rooms half-mad with lust?" she asked as she nibbled on his earlobe with the tiniest bit of pressure, knowing it was a secret area on his body that made him hard whenever she played with it. Hades' moaned at that, nuzzling her cheek as she pressed tiny kisses to his jaw line with innocent chasteness that contradicted the daring 'accidental' brush of the back of her hand to his pant line. He pushed forward unthinking to try to claim a sweet kiss but she leaned away in time as she punished him with a hard grab at his clothed cock. Her husband yelped slightly at the pressure she palmed him with, as she slid away from his face so she could carefully remove his unbuttoned jacket with added aggression so as to inform him of her displeasure at his sudden forwardness. She tugged it down his arms violently, before throwing it behind her without a care if it wrinkled or not - his servants could deal with that.

"So forward, my lord, to try and kiss me after leaving me unfulfilled and burning for you on the battlefield? The way you moved as you fought those Giants, the sweat on your brow and the snarl on your face made my thighs drench with want - but you left me there, my lord, so cruelly and I had to make do with my tiny fingers!" she whispered as she traced the back of his shoulders, making him shudder at the dirty talk. "So small compared to you, but what could I do? My cruel husband had left me all alone and I needed to cum so badly, my Lord. I had to duck away in the middle of it, you know, had to lean against a tree so that I could slide my hands down my dress and play with myself because you looked so good my Lord. I wanted your cock so much that I had to thrust three of my fingers shallowly inside of myself in order to cum; stretching myself so sweetly because of you. My breasts ached for want of you, for thought of you, that every time I rubbed myself I had to cup them too. So cruel to leave your poor wife wanting like that, when you have such lovely large hands and such a wanton cock. I remember when I saw it on our wedding night; so big and thick that I didn't think you could fit inside me until you showed me you could. Do you remember how tight I was? How I stretched to your giant cock as you took me from behind like a wild animal, how I screamed your name as you tore me apart? Wanted you to do it again, but you were so cruel my Lord and left me alone!" Persephone crooned as she took small yet firm bites out of his skin and squeezed his firm buttocks while Hades squirmed and groaned at the dirty talk radiating from his wife's tender lips. She took pity on him; kissing him lightly on the mouth, delighting on his soft lips that had given her so much pleasure before. She hummed the tiniest of moans, curling her fingers into his hair as she yanked him closer and into a deeper kiss. Her tongue invaded his mouth harshly, not waiting for permission, as she tasted the nectar and ambrosia he'd had for dinner along with the wine from before while extracting powerful grunts of passion from his willing mouth. She sucked greedily on his tongue, making him moan and whimper in turn as she worked to get him so turned on he wouldn't know up from down.

"Let me please you, my lady, let me earn your forgiveness as your humble servant. I ache for you, let me show you how much I love you - how much I want to make you happy!" he groaned into her ear, pulling back Persephone's control onto his own terms as he looked at her with a wicked grin that made her almost come undone. Devilish bastard always knew she loved power games, well he's in for a shock because for that - she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Words, words, words. Strip for me, oh humble servant, I want to see how much this 'ache' is but words on wicked tongues!" she chuckled darkly as she moved back mockingly when he almost tripped over himself to accommodate his wife's demands. She slowly allowed her eyes to again trail down his body, admiring every perfect line of his torso as he stripped off his shirt and tie, the perfect planes of his muscular chest, and the perfect ripped ridges of his muscular stomach. Her eyes went lower, tracing the twin lines between his hips, the thin trail of dark hair that led down, and then her eyes landed on an offending pair of trousers that blocked her view. He watched her darkly as he slowly them off too, causing her to gasp softly involuntarily and for her eyes to widen at the sight that beheld her as her removed his boxers in one sweeping gesture. She had forgotten how huge he really was, how his cock jutted brazenly out of a neat thatch of dark hair, rearing high like a fearsome dragon, the big dark-reddish tip level with his stomach. It was long and thick, and Persephone longed to have him put his fierce appendage to work within her soaking wet core.

Hades' watched her lustful stare proudly, stepping towards her with a predatory grace like a beast in the field, with eyes glittering in mischievous want. Her gaze had become transfixed on his erection, which bobbed with his every movement, so she hadn't noticed the movement till he pulled her forward with a domineering manner as his lips crashed together with hers in a fury of teeth and tongue as they fought for control over the moment. No. She was in control, she was the master here, and he was misbehaving!

She grabbed him by his hair, not caring for the painful yelp he gave, as she threw him onto the bed for his punishment. Hades hit the silk covers hard, before pushing himself up with a defiance that could not be tolerated. "Such a greedy servant, I think, to demand what I have not given so wantonly. I think you should be punished, for such an offense as denying your Lady her pleasure and then demanding it for yourself; let me think ... ah, I have just the punishment in mind!" she mock-pondered as she pushed him down again while slowly discarding the kimono robe so she could stand on the edge of the bed and thus have room to kneel before his waiting cock on the cold floor with a look of daring that made Hades groan at the sight.

Her gaze dropped to her favourite part of her husband, observing silently how well-endowed he was as it pointed towards her boldly, as if begging for her forgiving touch. She congratulated herself on landing such an impressive beast as she observed the large and turgid shaft with appreciation. There were several bluish veins, and a large vein in particular grew from the root of his groin and traveled the long length of his arousal, stopping at the thick mushroomed head. Instead of placing her hand directly on him, Persephone reached out and moved her hand to his upper thigh, massaging the flesh tauntingly, before moving inward. Her fingers came in contact with his dark hair and she curiously coiled them in the thick curls. Lifting her hand, the Goddess again moved it until it hovered above his erection, and then she grazed the head of his member with her fingers. Hades hissed and jumped in both shock and pleasure at her touch, before throwing his head back with a groan. Encouraged by her Lord husband's pleasured sound as well as her growing fascination at how far she could tease him, Persephone began to circle the head with her fingers. She played with the round edge before sliding all the way down his length and to his base, causing him to let out a deep groan. She traced the large bluish vein and admired the feeling of the pulse of blood underneath the pads of her fingers. Then she gently followed its path to the heavy sac below before trailing her fingers back up again.

Hades let out another hiss of pleasure when she dragged her fingers up again to circle his swollen tip, jerking in surprise when she finally wrapped her small right hand as much as she could around his aching cock. "Wife, please!" he begged prettily with a deep moan as he slightly thrust his hips into her hand. The needy sound that escaped her husband made Persephone's stomach clench and her core quiver. She tightened her grasp a little. She again marvelled at the paradox of how soft his skin was, yet how hard his shaft was beneath, like steel sheathed in velvet. Giving a soft squeeze, the Goddess began to stroke up and down his length like he had taught her before on nights long ago in the blissful comfort of their honeymoon. Her other hand curiously moved lower and she gently cupped one of the heavy sacs below his length, before squeezing the other one. The pleased grunt that escaped from him at her touch had her attention diverted from what she was doing to see his furrowed brow and strained features. She felt feminine pride swell within her at his obvious pleasure, and she quickened the pace of her hand. Looking back down, Persephone noticed the semi-translucent, whitish liquid seeping from the small slit on his tip which she recognised with pride at her abilities as a lover. She stroked him one more time before pressing her thumb on his swollen head, spreading the liquid around it. His cock jerked almost violently from her touch, the sight of it causing hot liquid to slide down her nether lips.

A growl escaped Hades; a warning that she should slow down or else the entire night would be for nothing, as she caressed him. Her hand slowly left his cock so as to test her own ready core with added seductiveness; finding herself wet and completely ready for him without any need for anymore foreplay. Persephone stood up from her position on the floor, slipping off her panties slowly to his delight, as she straddled his waiting body with ease; leaning down just enough to catch his lips in a sweet kiss as she smiled at the thought of her final gift to him. "Dear Lord husband, do you want to know a secret?" she asked playfully as she steadied herself with planted hands upon his chest.

"Dearest Lady love, I think I do!" he responded with a devilish wink and a small yet noticeable thrust of his cock up towards the haven of her thighs - though she would not permit him to enter her just yet.

She leaned down carefully, draping her still clothed breasts across his chest naughtily, as she whispered her final act of seduction in his ear. It was a secret revealed to her by Hera of all people, during the victory feast, when she was so into her cups that she could stand to be near her husband's bastard daughter. "When you take me tonight, I want you to know that because of my divine healing, I will be as untouched as the night we first made love!" she whispered lovingly into his ear as he groaned at the knowledge. Sure, she was apprehensive over losing her virginity again after the first time felt like she was being ripped apart, but she felt overjoyed at the prospect of a new start, a new chapter of her marriage to a man she loved so desperately. This was her triumph, the crowning moment of her life when she finally took back her husband and made him hers forever. Persephone felt her power grow as she let him guide her down onto the head of his cock as she rubbed it against her slick folds and swollen nub. This was everything she had ever wanted and Persephone threw back her head as she moaned in happiness and joy, allowing him use his iron grip on her hips to brush against her feminine folds in order to coat his entire length with her slick fluids before carefully dipping the tip of his cock into her entrance. She felt him meet a bit of resistance, so he pulled back slightly before pressing against her tiny opening a couple more times until finally he pushed the bulbous head inside her with an upward thrust. She winced slightly at the sensation, tightening her hold on him as she took in the bliss of having just the tip of him within her. She pushed down a little more, slowly sliding him in as they both groaned at the feeling of her burning sheath contracting around him as it stretched to his girth. They paused when the head of his cock nudged against a barrier - her newly reformed maidenhead.

"Oh, crudele amante, prendimi dentro di te e cavalca forte prima che impazzisca!" her husband chanted as he looked at her with glazed and half lidded eyes at the glancing touch it. For a moment, Persephone smiled as she took pride in making her husband look so pleasured that he could barely contain himself before a sharp blade cut through her happiness with a butcher's skill. She froze as her mind started to go into complete and utter shock. No ... it couldn't be ... he wasn't ... oh, by all the Gods, please don't say he's ... Persephone scrambled her mind in fear as she went rigid in his grasp. Italian, she hated hearing him speak Italian in bed together - the accent too snippy and angry to be used in words of lust or love - so why was he talking about a mistress in it? He knew after all that she loved hearing him speak French, the language where they had first found themselves feeling complete with the blessed Madame who'd shared their bed and heart with a sweet smile and a glowing goodness about her. Why the world was he speaking Italian and asking for his mistress unless he was ... no, Persephone wanted to cry out, not this. Anything but this! She looked at him in fear for the first time as she struggled to stop herself from vomiting in disgust. How fucking dare he even think about ... about his tart when in bed with her and asking for her by that vulgar title! To think of his precious Mistress Maria when she was dead and cold in the ground and his living and breathing wife was about to forgive and forget anything bad between them.

How could he do this to her?

Furious beyond words, she scrambled off him and went for the knife in her garter as the snake bracelet slithered down her other hand in readiness for combat. She was going to castrate him, strangle him, poison him, skin him and then cut his digusting throat while burning his dying body with Greek fire so he couldn't reform! She was going to ... she was going to ... Persephone's head spun as she held the blade towards him in fury as the whip twisted around her hand in preparation to protect herself from her disgusting husband and the truth. "My love?" his words burned her as she felt herself retching in pain and revulsion.

"How could you!" she whimpered in pain as looked at him with grief-stricken eyes as tears rolled down her face, "What type of man are you to do that to me?". Maria, that Italian bitch, must be rolling in her grave laughing right now, as Persephone clasped a hand to her mouth at the feeling of bile reaching up her throat like a clawed hand of reality. Hades, her lawful husband and male soulmate, was thinking about another woman when his true and loyal wife was giving herself to him in order to maintain himself and make himself capable of going through with it. He tried to touch her but she shrank away from his touch as she looked in horror at her own situation; stupid girl, too in love to realise that her own husband loved another and that ghost was never going away.

Humiliation burned through her like a wildfire as she weakly dropped the blade to the floor with a numb clang while the bracelet slackened onto her arm. Shame numbed her body like an ice bath on an awaiting firestorm as her defences crumbled at the thought. She needed to get away, to flee her husband before she did something that he would be sure to punish her for. A new cloud of fear took over her as she observed him rise from the bed with his cock still hard from thoughts of his dearest, dead, love. He was obviously was in pain from the state of discomfort at being left wanting ... would he force her to help him finish up? Did he have it in him to drag her to the bed and force himself on her while muttering more dirty wants for his mistress, while she screamed and pleaded him to stop? Could he grip her wrists and bend her over the bed as she kicked and wailed for mercy; she knew he was strong enough but did he have the potential? Her breaths grew short and terrified at the thought of it, of how little power she really had over their relationship for it was obvious now she had little in the bedroom if he needed his Mistress to make him even the slightest bit eager for a woman's flesh. He was stronger than her, more influential on Olympus than her, and she was in his domain without permission or anyone knowing about it. Stupid girl, she thought hysterically, to not tell anyone where she was going or who she was going to meet.

She had to get out; flee before he could assault her or before she would either be sick or commit homicide.

Persephone slowly crept backwards, eyes centered on the threat of the very man she had once loved so he couldn't distract her and thus get her to stay in a room that was quickly shrinking in size. Then, in a blind panic at her state of undress, she lunged to grab her cloak as she made a run for it. Hades shouted for her to stop but she ignored him and kept running; terrified that the stories of the Big Three's tendency towards rape was true for all of the brothers. She remembered horrific whispers of stories from Olympus of how when the last Olympian Riot when a few of the Gods had tried to make Zeus more of a benevolent ruler that a curious nymph had ventured into the home of Zeus after overhearing traumatising painful screams and whimpers of pain coming from the King's bedchamber. The nymph had disappeared shortly after that but had managed to tell a friend how she had spotted Hera after coming out of her room with bite and claw marks littering her body as her husband looked on with a cruel scowl so to escort her to Tartarus for her punishment. It was said they glowed gold with blood, and that the Queen's hands shook in fear and shock, while the stone guards at the door looked on in unabashed horror. Was that to be her fate when her cursed body was forced to come back to her husband later on in the year as the agreement between him and Demeter had ruled it so?

Hot tears streamed down her face as her now burning hot fingers desperately gripped tight on the thin sheet of cloth that shielded herself from the Palace Guards. They watched her run past, silent and reproachful, and she knew that soon the gossip would be out that Persephone had been seen running away from her husband's room in tears because she was stupid enough to risk a stupid plan to win him back and had lost everything because of it. Her face grew red hot with shame as she avoided their eyes; disappointment, unlovable, frigid, unclean - the words rippled through her mind as she made her way to her garden - the only solace she had in life after her one desire had failed her.

When she was young, she had dreamed of finding a man who would fit her ideal description of a good husband. He must be tall, she had thought, with a strong manner about him and a powerful amount of repressed rage and pleasure hidden within. He must be mysterious and aloof but still capable of showing torrid love and devotion to me and only me when we are alone together. Decently equipped and full of good vigour to be sure, a stallion of passionate virtue and unholy amounts of stamina to keep her enthralled. Above all, however, she had wanted a man who was loyal to her and to her alone with not a single hint of desire to look elsewhere or at anyone but her. She had seen her father and plenty of her fellow immortals stray from their wives and lovers without a single care for their affections - seen the broken way Hera looked at the women her husband strayed away with and the resolved unhappiness Amphitrite dealt with her husband's lechery with her own handmaidens - and Persephone knew she never wanted to have man like that but she guessed now she had finally lost her fight with that one for there was no doubt in her mind that Hades had both loved and still loved Maria Di Angelo with all his heart.

She remembered when she had first came across Hades, looking every inch of a maiden's fantasy come to life, after he announced his love for her and desire to make her his Queen - and like a fool she had accepted him gladly into her bed and heart. She had thought him above such things to love others, for in those moments of initial decades of joyful marriage Persephone had known true fidelity and passion. When she married him and brought him to her marital bed; she had thought herself triumphant to be able to shape the virgin God to her sexual will as she let him take off her clothes with shaking fingers. When he looked upon her with that awe inspired face of desire, she had thought him the most potent of drugs for when she opened her legs to him and he revealed himself in full glory Persephone had nearly yelled in triumph had it not been for the daze of lust she felt for the man she had risked everything for. Their first coupling was slightly hurried, slightly painful, and slightly awkward to be sure but once she had let him let loose his bestial side there was no regrets on her part. Her legs burned with ache, her parts felt bruised and battered, and her lips bitten - she had finally achieved her burning desire in her newly wed husband. The second time was the most passion she had ever felt as she reigned over her husband and let loose her deviant side as she bit and clawed him in a fury of wanton wickedness. Hades had been surprised for sure at the sight of a maiden bride loving him with such wildness that even Aphrodite could not claim to know but he was enthralled rather than maddened with it and pleaded that she would show him every part of her that lay cruelly dormant for so long.

Then came the reality of what her desires had caused her and Persephone let loose a saddened and humiliated gulp of despair as she took in the fruits of her own actions. The chases that had toned her legs in childhood allowed her to dash quickly towards a respite in the isolated garden away from taunting eyes and her body clenched with pain rather than desire for its master's despair driven agony. How could she have been so stupid as not to see what was right in front of her the whole time? That Hades, her husband and perceived soulmate, had the capacity now to love others as he had once loved hers to the point of envisioning them in place of his his true wife. Why did he have to think of his whore! Why did he have to treat his wife with such cruelty, to show her a small glimmer of happiness before snatching it away again with cold, unloving, fingers. How could she possible live with herself now, to know that her mate had chosen another in his heart and now carried that woman around even after her death to the point of forcing her visage onto his wife during their lovemaking. Humiliation gave her noise as she let loose a horrified wail of pain as she reached the centre of the garden; causing her to let loose her powers as both daughter of Demeter and Zeus and Queen of the Underworld, as she allowed the ground to tremble beneath her in a furious earthquake that destroyed the statues around her, killed off every single pomegranate tree with a burst of sorrow at their suffocating symbolism with a rain of acidic water from the atmosphere above her, destroyed the mounds of precious stones Hades had gifted her with a mass of fiery geysers born from the ground, pulled at the air to create a devastating storm that blew away the poisonous scrubs her mother had placed to tempt her daughter to murder her unworthy husband and to conceal her wailing, before finally creating a wall of black thorns to conceal her shameful state of mind. A display of earth, wind, fire and water that cruelly mirrored her childish rituals from before when her mind so was innocent and naïve to think her husband could ever love her enough to bare children with her. After she was done raging and had collapsed into a small heap; the garden was completely destroyed as was her will to live.

Persephone gave up on dignity as she thought over the situation she was in and shortly thereafter threw up beside the dying stump that was the Pomegranate tree that had bared the fruit that had allowed her union to her cheating bastard of a husband. How could he betray her like this? Didn't he know that Maria Di Angelo was a dead woman, and that he had a living, immortal, and beloved wife? Did he even care for her dignity, her honour and sense of respect to use her body as a way to fuck his dead whore? To imagine that his mistress was the one who was about to lose her virginity again to and not his wife's? Did he understand that Persephone loved him far more than Maria ever did? That she was a worthier Queen and Wife than that woman ever was?

No, it seemed not, and ... and ... and Persephone slowly began in her sorrow to accept the reality that she wasn't enough for him.

She was his Queen, his wife, and his lover but even that seemed hollow now as she looked realisitically at her life. She was a Queen without an heir, a wife who lived half the year apart from her husband, and had refused him to her bed for so long that she could not find a reason why he should love Persephone in exchange for Maria. Maria had given him two beautiful children who were their father's greatest delight, Maria was always there to hold him whenever he did wish when she was alive, and Maria most of all had given herself up to him when he desired a bed partner and found his wife cold to the touch. She realised then that it wasn't truly the woman's fault - sure she had slept with a married man but it was her husband and Persephone herself who should share the blame for it. Had her husband been loyal to her, and she desirable to him, then Maria Di Angelo wouldn't have even existed in her mind and ... and she would still be alive. Probably married somewhere to a lovely Italian man who would give her children and make her happy instead of being long dead and having one of her children follow her and the other ... the other ... well he wasn't too far from the grave to be honest last time she had seen him in battle.

Oh Gods.

Nico Di Angelo, the apple of his father's eye and his greatest pride, and what had she done to him? Casted him aside, assaulted him with verbal attacks, and turned him away from her with every rude or hurtful comment that passed by her lips. Horror took her over as she considered her part to play in the poor boy's life; what had she done? She had turned away a grieving child, a mere babe, and mocked him to the point of despair for no reason other than being the ghostly fruit of a union that had consumed her husband in his entirety. How cruel did a woman have to be to harm a boy to get back at his dead mother for things Persephone herself was unable to give. She was a monster, a twisted shell of a woman, to do such things! To say such things! By all the Gods, she was the villain of her own story, and yet she blamed an innocent for her own shortcomings. She needed to make things right, to fix this, so that her soul could be purified again. So she could remove this twisted stain from her character and re-write her own life by acting in a manner befitting of a true woman of dignity and goodness. There was no way about it, Persephone closed her eyes and breathed deeply, she was damned if she didn't heal the rift between her and her stepchildren for her soul was as black as sin right now and the guilt of her evil was destroying everything Persephone was or stood for. Now was the time to heal and mend; for though she would never forgive her husband for his treachery, it was now evident to her that Nico Di Angelo and Hazel Levesque were the subject now of her contrition and repentance. She would dedicate her entire life to achieving it, sacrifice anything to gain it, and do anything they wished of her to deserve it. 

How to go about gaining this forgiveness; Persephone did not know as she rose up from the darkness around her to face the coming struggles ahead. Perhaps a peace token of some kind, a personal gift to the children so that they could know she cared for them along with foot and drink to nourish them as a good friend would provide? She just hoped that it wasn't too late, as she looked over the devastation she'd brought to the sanctuary of her past. Cautious stares caught her eye as a few of the more bravery members of the dead hesitantly came closer to inspect the damage and cause of the garden's destruction. She pulled the cloak tighter around her nude body to hide it from their prying eyes as she squared her shoulders, held her head high and put on her most convincing smile. She then snapped her fingers to summon some clothes from her private closets in the underworld; something bright and cheery that would hide the pain behind her eyes. She then pulled off her wedding ring and threw it bitterly into the ground in disgust as the snake bracelet on her arm twisted its way up her back as it curled into her hair to hold it in place so it wouldn't distract her focus from the task at hand. She shrugged on the clothes and used her powers to summon a diamond mirror so she could hide her grief from the world with a layer of thick makeup before shattering it on the ground after she was done.

Time to focus, she thought bitterly, you have a job to do.

At least she had a plan of action now; to gain forgiveness from her stepchildren and find a way to rid herself of the horrific marital mess she'd been dealt with. Mentally she summoned the strength to put on a mask of reassuring pleasantness so she could achieve her objectives without constantly feeling nauseated or aggravated by her own dour circumstances. Demeter had shown her a long time ago the benefits of such a mask when dealing with the subject of men but Persephone had forgotten to utilise. Concealing what you feel, her mother had said once, is a politeness that will save you years of heartbreak in the long run. All women, both mortal and immortal, have to use them because if a man they love knows what they are thinking, it gives them power over you and thus gives them the ability to hurt their women carelessly, cruelly, and constantly. It may sound sexist, but in reality there is some truth to the tale that most men find the emotions or opinions of women irrelevant - especially in the bedroom it seemed after this last few hours.

And if there was something Persephone could not do; it was allow herself to be humiliated again as she plastered on her fake mask and spun off into the shadows to start her new life away from such crushing disappointments as marital bliss.

_I can do this, Persephone thought quietly, I can do this._


	2. POV - Nico

_** Falling down and Getting back up ** _

_** By R. L. Collins ** _

* * *

_There’s just something wrong about having a fag attend camp; the little freak gives me the creeps!_

The words raced through Nico’s mind as he stepped into the shadows and reappeared at a beach front – was it a beach front? Nico didn’t know; his mind too clouded to consider the absent thought until his senses picked up the crashing of the waves – it hurt him. Hurt his ears, by the Gods can’t he ever find somewhere that was peaceful and quiet? Never any quiet anymore; always something to do or someone in the way. Nico considered for a split moment when the last time he had ever managed to sleep properly without collapsing from exhaustion. Not during the time after … after …. After Bianca. No, his heart was too heavy with grief to do that and anyway under the ground there was too many dangers to consider sleeping in anything but small bursts that did nothing to combat his sense of exhaustion because every sound could have been a monster or someone watching him to see when he would let down his defences. The two Wars had forced him upright and alert, with any sign of weakness being a cause for danger to befall his friends – especially after Tartarus. Gods he didn’t think he could ever properly sleep after that – with so many images keeping his body rigid and panicked from the unholy horrors that stabbed at his eyes and filled his mouth with muffled screams. In fact; he couldn’t actually remember sleeping that well to begin with, so the point was pretty mute.

He was definitely sure something was wrong with him like the girls had said.

After all; he’d always known that he was a freak. A creepy, un-social, terrifying, crazy, gay son of Hades who’s very being seemed at times against nature. No wonder people scrambled away from him; who’d want to associate with someone like that! A small part of him wanted to argue that he had friends who did love him, but years of experience had told him otherwise. They didn’t love him, no one could love him. He was cursed – anyone he’d ever loved had died after all. His mother, Bianca, Percy and Annabeth it seemed that one time when they fell into Arachne’s trap and plunged into the darkness. His track record was pretty discouraging against people ever finding him a possible subject of affection and his so-called friends must be pretending in order to do something to him. Maybe they were just gaining his trust so that when eventually he did blow – they could sneak up beside him and stab him in the back to protect their own loved ones. They were all probably thinking it – how to get rid of him when his temper took over again.

Nico’s battle reflexes went into overdrive at that point with his body twitching at any slight disturbance around him and his breathing becoming rapid and unhinged. He was wrong, a mistake of nature, a freak! His so-called ‘friends’ were going to kill him. Maybe he would kill his friends? Who knew really – after all he did to Bryce could he ever be called human? He’d destroyed another living soul and that has to be a sign of him being a monster didn’t it.

Monster. Freak. Demon. Abomination. Monster … he was a monster!

Nico clenched his fists together as he stared out blankly at the water’s edge; mentally trying to will away the inevitable panic attack that always followed the manta’s re-emergence in his mind. His teeth bit painfully down on his bottom lip, already calloused from the cold autumn air, to silence the scream building up in his throat – making his mouth taste the bitter iron of the trickles of blood that resulted without gagging. Everything was too much. Everyone around him was too much.

No, not too much … too little.

It was a naïve wish, the type of childish nonsense that had been beaten out of him from years upon years of heartbreak that he was forced to experience and live through. A frail want for love that had poisoned his mind into thinking maybe at last he had found acceptance with the Campers and was finally safe again. But he wasn’t, he never could be and Nico was so tired of dreaming otherwise. His mind flashed rapidly through the various cases of bad luck that seemed to follow him in a steady stream of self-loathing. His legs game up under him as he dropped into a frightened ball; was it always this cold? Nico’s teeth chattered from a sudden shift in temperature as his arms prickled from goose pimples breaking out along his arms. His body was shaking, he observed with a strange and terrifying detached thread of thought, not seizure shaking but small shakes a person with prolonged frost bite that made his body feel numb yet pained like a thousand pins were jabbing into his skin. He wiped sweat off of his forehead, even though he was freezing. He couldn't’ breathe normally, as he was trying to catch his breath. His mind raced faster, and faster as vague and unconnected dashes of thoughts danced across it like rocks skipping across a lake. He felt like he was drowning, freezing and definitely unhinged as his eyes slammed shut from the immense strain of holding himself together.

Was that a sound? A predator? Should he get up to protect himself? Why get up? Stay and get eaten; a gory death for a monster is a fitting end after all for someone like him. A Monster. A Freak. A Demon. Abomination. Not worthy of life. Why can’t he die, why could he never find the strength to die. It was so cruel! Couldn’t he have a single moment of peace for himself?

A vague and blurry outline shifted in front of him, but his gaze was glassy and unfocused, so he couldn’t make them out. Was this the person who would end his suffering? He didn’t know whether to thank them or end himself before they could for the grim satisfaction of for once choosing the method of his fate. He tried to breath, to take one last sweet gasp of air to treasure on the way down to his father’s house where the stale air would be his only solace. Solace. Will … oh the Gods he must be so angry right now. Shadow travelling was something Nico had promised not to do anymore after all; doctor’s orders.

He would be angry, so angry right now with him. Did Will have any plans on hurting him? He was a doctor after all, but Nico had seen him in battle before and he knew that he could kill if motivated. And boy did Nico just give him some motivation so when Will most likely found him – no doubt the boy would punch him one for the disobedience. Will was very strong, he may not look it, but Nico had seen him fireman lift a couple of Ares kids once without breaking a sweat, so no doubt Will could definitely do some damage if he ever put his mind to it. Nico thought about Will punching him a lot; not in a friendly ‘hi bro!’ way like Percy and Jason did but in a ‘what the fuck you freak!’ way. It was a horrible conclusion he had imagined to every situation Nico had posed in regards to Nico confessing his crush on the doctor and no matter how many times Reyna had told him that Will would never harm him – Nico had a very difficult time believing it. After all; it was a sin no matter how many people tried to tell him it wasn’t.

He was unnatural, a lecherous pervert of the most disgusting kind who should be shunned and beaten until the gay went away. He couldn’t remember much about his life in Italy or in America when they emigrated over with his mother, but he could remember as clear as day one scene of a man being beaten with a rod at church while a woman screamed horrifying things at him. It had scared him, especially that young, and Nico supposed this fear was one of the reasons why the memory was so clear. The man had been caught kissing another man and now the woman was accusing him of sodomising children because of his illness making him a sexual deviant or something like that. He remembered the sobbing man crying and the sound of his skin breaking from the blows as it got violent enough for blood to be drawn even there at the sacred steps of the Church his mother had taken them to for Mass. Nico had been haunted for weeks when the memory slapped him in the face after he’d collapsed from exhaustion just before he’d found Percy at New Rome and the sheer amount of pain he’d felt from the revealed memory had almost crippled him then.

He was the man in the church now; only the Campers had decided that beating Nico to death would be too hazardous enough for their health and so had resorting to crude comments at the bonfire that night. Two girls from Hermes had been in conversation together all throughout the festivities and eventually Nico managed to listen in on what they were saying. Horrible things really like how Nico should attend some other camp to get himself ‘straightened out’ and how its shame that chemical castration isn’t more common place for people like him.

The whispered words had burned his ears; they knew.

How the fuck did they know? Jason had sworn that he would never reveal Nico’s secret and strange as it was for a child of Hades to trust a child of Zeus – he knew that after everything he’d been through with the boy that he could trust his word more than anyone. So, who had told him about his condition? Probably Percy, that utter fucking idiot had probably blurted it out at dinner one night and now everyone was probably going to reach for their torches to lynch him before he corrupted any of the children at camp. He should go, he should hide, he should flee.

A howl echoed in the distance, pained and afraid, and Nico shivered as it made him begin to wake from the catatonic state he was in. “Got to go, I’ve got to go!” Nico muttered to himself as a wave of sickness made him sharply shut his mouth before he puked up everywhere. He felt a hand graze him and a lurching sensation brought him back down to the earthly plane with a sickening gasp as he felt the world pinching and pulling him in all different directions. He couldn’t see; was it really this late? Gods, it had felt like a few moments but maybe he’d been sitting there freaking out for hours – his legs felt numb enough to justify it. So dark, so cold, so alone – it was just like Tartarus all over again, just like the jar all over again. Nico hated the dark now, it whispered and taunted him so anytime he’d wake up in the darkness of Cabin 13 there was always the risk he’d be screaming or darting away into the corner in a panicked moment of terror that always freaked Hazel out every time she was woken up by her brother’s mental breakdowns. A wave of guilt heaped onto him, Hazel … was she ok? If people knew he was gay – did they start to think Hazel was infected with the same sickness too? Frank would protect her, he loved her deeply and Nico always appreciated that, but the taunts would break her mind faster than anything Gaea could do – he should leave, take the heat off her so people wouldn’t hurt her.

Hazel ... Got to protect little sister; Nico's mind shouted at him.

A hand was holding his face and he could make out the identity of the person now to be his always pissed off step mother Persephone herself looking at him with those piercing brown eyes that always seemed to curse him every time they landed on him. Oh Gods, she was watching him break down. He couldn’t deal with her insults today, couldn’t deal with her barely covered disgust over everything Nico ever did. Why her? Hadn’t he suffered enough. The darkness set in and Nico’s mouth allowed but one word to escape him in a terrified and gasped panic; “Dark!”. Really, that was all he could do? Might as well have thrown his parentage in her face for all the good it would do. Why would she care about him feeling terrified of the dark, no doubt she was here to berate him for something or turn him into another of her plants like before. Maybe that was a good thing – life as a pansy might be better than the one he was being given and maybe he’d even be able to rest in peace on the beach front instead of having to face the inevitable walk back to camp to meet the disgusted stares of everyone again.

Small specs of light seemed to shine down on them. Fireflies, his mind supplied as he watched the little insects dart around and light up the blanket of darkness that had set over them. He realised in that moment that he loved them, loved the little insects that had answered his prayers and had illuminated the darkness surrounding him. They were so pretty, darting around kindly to some unspoken melody with a grace and rhythm no mortal could ever understand. He said a private prayer to the Gods of whom ever had dominion over the trivial things; thanking them for the kind gesture. His eyes focused a little on Persephone before he realised three things.

One; somewhere between collapsing at the beachside and becoming aware of his surroundings he’d gained possession of a blanket made of the softest sheepskin he’d ever felt. Really; it was so warm, so soft and so calming that for half a moment he wondered if it was the golden fleece hanging on Thalia’s Tree at Camp and whether he should be prepared for that damn dragon to start raining down vengeance on the person who’d stolen its treasure before he noticed the pure white colour as opposed to the golden sheen of that particular fleece along with the fact that this one was a lot fresher than the ancient treasure hanging from that familiar tree. He pulled it closer; snuggling into the warmth it provided against the frigid air and the comfort that it brought him was overwhelmingly making him want to sob in thanks to whoever had gifted it to him.

Two; under the two of them was a cotton picnic blanket with the cliché pattern of red and white check that seemed to be one of those unspoken American tradition that movies always portrayed in really bad horror films where two teenagers get horrifically torn apart by some monster after making out on the clichéd blanket like idiots. There was even a picnic basket that smelled heavenly to Nico’s rumbling stomach that ached for the treats hidden inside; with the scent of fresh bread and sweet strawberry jam making him near drool with want. He knew he should be eating better, doctor’s orders and all, but after the experience with Persephone’s pomegranate seeds in the Jar he’d always felt sick after eating mortal food and so took very little portions and very small bites at dinner times as a result. A mere sandwich now filled him up and anything past a small plateful made him violently sick as if his stomach was rebelling even against itself. Therefore; Nico had been eating like a mouse ever since the War and the almost emancipated look on his frame in the mirror every morning was the result.

Finally, three; that Persephone was gently rubbing small circles on his arms with a reassuring yet pleading look on her face that was so strange Nico felt like he’d been sucked into an alternate dimension. Her eyes were slightly puffy though, with faint trails that seemed to be from tears that had been quickly covered up with a few layers of makeup, so Nico was vaguely confused as to what could make a Goddess cry so bitterly. Her fingers, soft and gentle to the touch like he’d imagined his mother’s hands to be like, were small and dainty with the nails being short, clean and well maintained so each time she stroked a circle they wouldn’t scratch him. Normally Nico was adverse to touch but this was … wonderful really, motherly in a way that Nico had been craving ever since he’d got out of that damn Casino as a kid with Bianca and no mother beside them. So, light, barely there but so wonderfully there at the same time, they were like tiny kisses that Nico clung to like a life line to get him out of the shadows of the panic attack desperately. He took a hurried breath, breathing in a homely smell of cinnamon and apples that pervaded around the Goddess – making him crave the flaking sweetness of a fresh apple pie made sweet with a lightly dusting of sugar with a fiery vengeance. He also suddenly wanted to take a long and peaceful walk through the woods in order to satisfy the other scent that could only be described as being like fallen leaves kicked into piles for children to dive on as the seasons changed.

Persephone kneeled in front of him, dressed in an outfit so absurdly mortal that he'd thought that maybe she wasn’t even Persephone at all for just a split moment. His eyes concentrated on a cream coloured woollen beanie that graced her head, with a small cream puff ball at the top that slumped a little to the right in an adorable way that almost made Nico smile a little. Her hair was drawn back into an elegant pony tail underneath the hat with a gold and black ornate hairband holding it in place - a snake he noted with glowing ruby eyes as it ate its own body with ravenous want that looked off considering the sweetness of the rest of the outfit. A thin morning sun coloured wool cardigan draped down to her hip that contrasted wonderfully against her casual looking cotton dress that was primarily white with orangey-yellow floral patterns fading on it like tiny spiderwebs frozen with frost that glimmered slightly in the fireflies’ dim yet comforting light. Underneath she wore some black leggings to protect against the cold which led Nico’s gaze down to a pair of what looked like tan coloured leather boots that reached up to her calf and were obviously very comfortable compared to Nico’s own falling apart converses that were always needing repairing.

Overall; she looked like an ordinary but aesthetically pleasing girl – not something Nico was prepared for after seeing her so often in full length gowns in the underworld. Maybe it was just an summer-fading-into-autumn thing or maybe just being above ground made her less formal than her underworld counterpart because no one was calling her the Queen of the Underworld up here. Approachable, Nico would describe her as, like she’d share a cup of coffee with you and chat about her semester at some arts collage with a genuine smile on their face. The touches were so wonderful, Nico didn’t want to ruin the perfect moment by talking so eventually Persephone broke the silence between them with a small sigh of relief at probably sensing his now level breathing and awake eyes. “… Just breath now ok? Everything here is safe; the darkness is gone, and you are loved and protected here. Your family is protected, and your sister is alive and happy thanks to you. Hazel is ok, your camp mates are ok, everything is ok. There is no danger here; no one wishes you harm and everyone here loves you deeply. I need you to remember that Nico; the love of your friends can you think of it. Think of Hazel, think of Reyna, Think of Jason, and Piper, and Percy and Annabeth. Think of ... think of your father and how you are a very important and brave person who he couldn’t be happier to call son. You are not in any danger; you have a future which is bright and happy. You are going to help Hazel in her schoolwork, help her with her train when her wedding day comes and hold her children when they come to visit. You have a future, and that future is happy and alive. Keep that thought very safely in your mind; it’s a happy one so I want you to imagine it and then let it fill you up, so it can dispel any bad thoughts you may be having. Then remember to breathe!” she spoke softly, with a warming tone that made him think of a roaring fireplace and safety. Nico concentrated as he breathed. In, out, in, out he murmured as the panic attack slowly faded away into the dark recesses of his mind. That wasn’t exactly the reaction he was expecting from Persephone on discovering him basically being a complete mess. So easily she could have broken him down further by making fun of him until he cried but she didn’t … why didn’t she. Persephone had never hidden her distaste for his existence before – a fact he was both angered and grateful for because although it hurt at least she wasn’t lying to him or going behind his back to get revenge on the illegitimate offspring of her husband. She didn’t like him, he didn’t like her, she turned him into plants, and he insulted her verbally to her face. That was the status quo; so why change now.

“Before you ask; no, I am not nor, would I ever make fun of someone having a panic attack – I’ve had plenty before and I know how terrifying they are – nor am I going to ask you about why you are here and not tucked up in bed like the other children are. Hazel knows where you are as do the rest of the other campers, I have left them strict instructions through Chiron to leave you alone for now and not to disturb you tonight while you recover. I’ll be right here as you do so; so, you can vent, scream, cry or rant over whatever you want but I don’t think being alone is the best course of action right now. Now; would you like a cup of hot chocolate? It’s quite chilly and I’ve been reliably informed that chocolate is a cure-all for whatever ails anybody ever from panic attacks to the odd murderous mood swing!” she smiled sweetly, and Nico thought that if this was a trap then Persephone was a damn good actress to pull of such a genuine act. Still he hesitated a few moments before nodding his assent towards the hot drink; delivered a small yellow mug with white geometric shapes for decoration and looking absolutely mouth-watering with its perfect ratio of pink and white marshmallows and a soft layer of cream that definitely would give him a sugar high later on. A small stick of cinnamon rose out of the depths of the mug which he carefully removed so he could quietly munch down without making too much mess. The actual drink itself was neither too hot nor too cold, and was almost enough to make Nico want to just curl up and sleep for the rest of the week thanks to the haze it created in his mind.

Persephone herself just sat there, delicately eating from a small bowl of ripe strawberries that she dipped lightly into a saucer of melted white chocolate with nimble amusement. Why she even decided to indulge in mortal food was beyond Nico’s understanding, after all Olympians to his knowledge normally just consumed Nectar and Ambrosia for sustenance with Mr D being the only who seemed interested in consuming mortal things in his consumption of Pepsi and wine but that was just because of his role so it didn’t count. Maybe she just wanted to indulge or perhaps she was just using the fruits as a diversion while she waited for her stupid step-son to quit crying about his sad life, so she could do whatever Goddesses normally do. Either way; it wasn’t his place to talk about what she did or didn’t do – it would just cause another argument between them and he admitted to like the comfortable silence between them as for a few moments he could pretend that he wasn’t living the life he was dealt with and that he was just having a picnic with his mother or something like that.

A small giggle woke him from his thoughts; great now she was laughing at him – well silence over! Nico prepared himself for a barrage of insults but was stunned when she gestured to a small dollop of warm cream that had gathered somehow on his cheek to the Goddess’s amusement. Nico didn’t know whether to find the noise offensive or adorable; because it was definitely one of the most musical things he’d ever heard with its light and tinkling nature. In that moment; she wasn’t some all-powerful Goddess who looked at him like he was roadkill because of his illicit existence but a friend, a maternal figure like Reyna and thus a fallible creature just like him with her own weaknesses and problems to deal with and her own demons to fight. Human, mortal even, in a certain light and Nico blushed as he quickly brushed away the offending cream with a small swipe of the back of his hand.

“You know; you are very cute when you want to be!” Persephone mused as she reached for her own drink – a crystal glass full of what looked like either a very deep brown apple juice or sherry – which she casually sipped with the elegance of a well-bred lady of status. Nico’s ears burned red at the comment; a deep shade of crimson that was made worse by the paleness of his skin after so long in the shadows. A furious tirade of anger built up inside him but was cooled as soon as Persephone spoke again. “At times I think you look almost exactly like your father ... you certainly have the quirks of him down. The fierce blush when he’s embarrassed on his ears, the slight wrinkle of the nose when he’s grumpy about something or other. You even have the habit it seems of double-knotting your shoes like him because of his general clumsy footwork when he’s annoyed meant that one time he tripped over some pleading soul and faceplanted into a marble column and thus has never forgotten to tie them properly again. But there it is; your mother’s smile, the same warmth and determination passed down to you by a woman who had ... who had loved and been loved by ... my husband to the very end. You look a lot like her you know?”

A cloud seemed to come over Persephone over the mention of Nico’s mother; a sore subject to be sure and instantly the reference cooled any hint of amusement that the image of his father falling over and embarrassing himself had produced. Did he really look like them that much? He’d always been very observant of his father’s character and features as he often tried to find the similarities between himself and the God. He had his father’s dark hair, he figured, and some of his other characteristics like his infamous fatal flaw of holding grudges and being generally quite sombre in nature but what did he inherit from his mom? He remembered very little of her after all the waters of the Lethe did and Hades definitely didn’t like to speak much on the subject of Maria Di Angelo unless absolutely necessary because of the discomfort it brought Persephone herself and because the subject seemed to raw and painful to itch at again. There was also a concerning look of ... something when she brought up his father. Maybe they had a fight and she was hiding out here until he had calmed down?

He’d always wanted to know though, and the desire must have been plain on his face because Persephone’s dark eyes seemed to study him closely before speaking again. “The similarities are quite striking when you look closely. In my jealousy when I discovered my husbands' ... attraction to your mother I admit to hiring some friends of mine to find out about her so I could somehow use it against her to take back my husband's attention. According to them; she was a very petite woman, a subject she was quite touchy about because she had to keep asking her taller father and Hades to get things down from cabinets when she cooked. Very expressive as well, with a mouth like a sailor and a huge array of Italian curse words that often got thrown at Hade’s way when he annoyed her or acted above her by accident. He mentioned her proclivity towards gesturing a lot when speaking – even breaking his nose once when he snuck up behind her when she was speaking to her annoying neighbour to her continued guilt. Talented with the Piano, and had a voice like the most beautiful opera singer on the planet – that’s how he courted her you know? Took her to the Italian Opera for three weeks going so she could listen to the music and play it from ear at home on an ancient piano her family had owned for generations upon generations. She also loved her family, often calling on her mama and papa every day when Bianca was little for advice or just a general chat on her way back from the shops to their continued delight as they loved having a granddaughter to dote on despite Maria not being married. Their names were … I think it was Isabella and Gabriel if I remember my friend telling me correctly … housewife and butcher by trade and very stern towards Hades when he saw them because he never married Maria to legitimise Bianca. Anyway; let’s just say Hades had quite a couple of near death experiences from Mr Di Angelo’s assortment of butcher knives whenever they came to visit and leave it at that. But Maria loved him, with all her heart and soul, and I … I can’t say I blame her in the end!” Nico watched Persephone close her eyes as if to wave off the urge to cry that Nico himself was definitely feeling. So, his mother was temperamental it seemed, expressive and passionate in nature, and very musically inclined. Nico filed away the information for later within the deepest recesses of his mind, so he could ponder its implications for later.

Nico smiled sadly a little at the words, both out of grief of never knowing what sounded like a very independent and strong woman and out of respect for the woman in front of him who was trying so hard to not let the past get between them again. He reached out a hand to place on hers in reassurance as he studied the pained look on her face and the shuddering breath she took as she opened her eyes once again to face the reality of the situation. Maybe this was the reason for her wet cheeks and the fading yet ever present despair that lay within those dark eyes? “Don’t feel bad about it; after all it was her decision to love a married man and my husband has always had a weakness for women of strength – not yours. You are my husband’s child, out of wedlock obviously but still you are his son and I … I admit to allowing my jealousy blind me to your innocence of that and I’m sorry for it!” Persephone looked down as she spoke the words, obviously full of remorse and guilt for her treatment of him in the past – and for one single moment he considered the ramifications of what she was saying.

She was apologising. She was genuinely taking responsibility for a past mistake; something that not many Gods had ever had the strength of character to do and, yet this woman was strong enough to admit it outright. Nico felt a wave of grateful confusion come over him as he whispered a quiet thank-you, frightened of breaking the rare moment.

Persephone looked up, with a face of regretful sorrow as if she couldn’t quite understand why he was thanking her. “I mean it, Nico, I am truly sorry for my actions and the horrid way I’ve been treating you. I let my jealousy and paranoia overwhelm me and that is not acceptable. When I found out about Maria’s existence, and was informed by my friends about her location, I admit to secretly following your father along when he visited your family for what must have been the second to last time before she … before she passed away. I had convinced myself that she was just another Marie Levesque and that the affair would end shortly after the birth of Bianca but what I saw … well I was terrified of it. It was a Sunday I think; the sun was shining overhead, and your mother must have thought that as a treat she would take the two of you out to the park. I remember how she looped her hand around his as he walked with you and Bianca playing in the sand in front of them; how she smiled so softly and sweetly that it made even the stoic Hades blush and stammer like a terrified schoolboy. How her voice was so beautifully curt yet melodic with her accent curling around words like she was reciting a very dramatic yet sarcastic poem. It … it broke me. This was not like the other affairs, this was not one that I could just pretend didn’t exist, Maria Di Angelo was there to stay it seemed and I was terrified of her in that moment. After all; she could so easily have replaced me if she ever spoke the words what with the amount of devotion that Hades obviously had for her and the respect she had gained from him from their long courtship greatly contrasted my own frigid and cold treatment of him in that era as he pulled away more and neglected our marriage in favour of supporting his other children instead. I had no children by him, and there Maria was with two perfect heirs ripe to be placed in honour while I was cast down and mocked for the shell of a marriage I clung to. It’s the perils of being a queen I suppose, to live in fear of being replaced by someone younger and more beautiful because they could provide while I could not. I have never been able to give a child to my husband, never been able to have the sweet joy of holding my own flesh and blood for the first time and watching them grow up under my guidance. I am a Queen with no heir, a position of dangerous connotations because no matter how much Hades may claim to love me – as he can never truly make the fear of being replaced go away. I wanted so much to have a child in those early days of marriage, to secure my position and ensure that my husband’s legacy was secured. I did everything I could, consulted with so many doctors and fertility Gods that I should have been able to do it but year after year of trying has led to nothing. I’ve screamed at every single one of my relatives, begged Hera and Artemis for the chance to be a mother, but nothing has worked. So … so that’s why when I see you and Hazel, when I am reminded that other women instead of me have been blessed with children that I get …. I get so angry that I forget that it is not their fault. That I am punishing innocent people for my own failures instead of taking responsibility for my own weaknesses … and I regret it. I regret it deeply. That’s why I came here today … to try and ask your forgiveness for my actions even if I don’t deserve it and to plead for another chance at it!”

The outpouring of emotion was only furthered when she knelt in front of him, desperately trying to appeal to him in order to gain the forgiveness she so obviously craved. Nico felt sorry for her, truly sorry because he had before treated his father’s wife with so little care or appreciation for how difficult Nico’s very existence must be for her. To live in fear of being replaced; how painful a prospect and how familiar. Her eyes were watering with shamed tears as she awaited his verdict with a look of pained desperation. In that moment; Nico was quietly reminded of the cautionary words of William Blake in his poem about 'A poison tree' (poetry after all was one of Hazel's most beloved pastimes apart from horse racing and annoying her big brother by having extraordinarily long showers just so she could tease him about being late to the War meetings despite it being all her fault ... they really needed a bathroom schedule ...) in regards to the situation evolving now. How did it go again? Hazel always seemed to hum poetry under her breathe when she was nervous so it wasn't too hard to remember.

"I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.  
I was angry with my foe:  
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears,  
Night and morning with my tears;  
And I sunned it with smiles,  
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,  
Till it bore an apple bright;  
And my foe beheld it shine,  
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole  
When the night had veiled the pole:  
In the morning glad I see  
My foe outstretched beneath the tree."

A caution of holding grudges, Nico noted, which as a child of Hades - he tended to do. He felt right in admitting himself that he wished to avoid that particular fate; and so finalised his mind towards giving forgiveness. He would forgive her, of course he'd forgive her. It was natural for her to be jealous and afraid of Nico, Bianca, and Hazel because they were, at least back then, very real threats to both her marriage and position as Queen. Nico breathed deeply as he spoke; “You want to try again?” with a soft look of understanding. A peace truce, a white flag to stand against the infighting of before. And something he truly wanted to experience again now he knew the reasons behind her what seemed like before petty behaviour. 

“With all my heart; I want to. I should have reconciled myself sooner to my own faults, but my pride and ego have always blinded me. I know I do not deserve it; I have acted disgracefully to you from day one and I have treated you worse than I should have. When you came to us I should have taken you into my arms; should have held you tight and took away your pain over losing your sister but I didn’t. I tore at you, insulted you and belittled a boy – a child going through unimaginable amounts of pain – and that will be one of my greatest mistakes and failures. I readily admit to it; I made a mistake and I can only hope for your forgiveness for my actions which have been unmistakeably evil and wrong!” Persephone spoke fragmentedly as she looked him in the eyes with a courage beyond that of any mere God or Hero. She was truly a woman of character that she would be prepared to apologise to her husband’s bastard son so honestly and with so little pomp or derision.

The words were truthful, and Nico’s heart knew his response. “I … I forgive you. And …. And I want to start over – to turn over a new page and start again!” his words seemed to not be heard for a moment but then a look of shocked relief spread over her face and for a moment Nico thought she might hug him. Nico was still getting used to the whole touching thing though, so he permitted her to hold his hand in thanks as she smiled a smile that could rival the sun and stars in its hope filled brightness. He took a breath and shook her hand as he said the next fateful words; “Hello; my name is Nico Di Angelo – I’m a son of your husband and you are?”

“Well; everyone calls me by Persephone but as you are family I suppose you could call me by my actual name of Kore in private if you want? Now do you want something to eat because if your stomach keeps rumbling like that you’ll cause an earthquake!” she laughed, a small yet tinkling giggle as she moved to cut open a small loaf of fresh bread that’s scent signalled it was probably Pane casareccia – Nico’s personal favourite and the food that Ambrosia always tasted like whenever he needed. Quickly slicing the bread, Persephone gestured to him a small collection of jams for his usage and he quickly handed her his favourite which was an orange marmalade with ginger that just tasted so good on the spongy soft bread. She quickly took the jar and spread the contents generously across the now buttered surface of the slice before handing it to him gently.

A thought occurred to him.

“Perseph-!” Nico stopped himself before continuing; “Kore. You mentioned before that you had experience with panic attacks; was that because you’re a Goddess of Spring and you spend half the year away from your domain? Because if it is then maybe I could …!” Nico didn’t get to finish because he noticed immediately that her face tightened and her fingers twitched at the question. For a moment, Nico didn’t know if he had offended or embarrassed or maybe annoyed her – probably all three. Stupid!

“No … um … not from that. I … well … I …. I spent a few months in Tartarus a very long time ago and its never … it’s never really healed over. It was after the first time Hades cheated on me with Leuke, an Oceanid, and I wanted to be alone for a while to try and deal with my own broken heart and pride at being just another Olympian bride bound forever to another God who would disregard his marital vows for the sake of a pretty face. As I wandered; I began to cry, and the sound attracted the attention of … Him!” Kore/Persephone spoke quietly as Nico looked in shock at the admission. She had been in Tartarus too? Why hadn’t he been told? Surely Hades must have known about this, but the line about Leuke made him feel even more sympathy for Persephone/Kore and anger at Hades for neglecting his wife in favour of chasing down women like his brothers before him.

“Who?” Nico asked softly, not wanted to spook her but still curious about the tale that had never been told before now.

“Alcyoneus. He had reformed at that time despite your father’s attempts otherwise and happened upon me by accident while trying to excavate a way into the Underworld, so his warriors could overwhelm my husband and thus destroy Hades without the Olympian’s interference. Then he discovered me and well … after that it gets blurry. I remember faint hints of Tartarus itself, the horrible feeling of never seeing sunlight again, a tragic longing for something I just can't describe and being so weak that I felt myself beginning to fade away. Eventually I must have escaped Alcyoneus’ prison because I found myself being tended to by Hecate on the tops of one the Roman mountains after she found me wandering in a distressed and unhinged manner. She tended my physical wounds and managed to brew together a potion from the waters of Lethe to make me forget the pain and suffering of that place, but my mind has never truly forgotten it, so I suffer horrid nightmares and chronic panic attacks every time winter gets too powerful for me to endure. I have survived however; and so, will you – I promise that!” Persephone/Kore stated with adamant stubbornness and Nico didn’t know if it was for his sake or hers. Nico knew that using the waters of Lethe was possible for an Olympian to be affected by but he couldn’t quite blame her for doing so because Nico wanted to do the same. He would have to had it not have been for the terrible fear of losing all his memories again like last time; Nico would have ran straight to the river without hesitation if it meant he’d be somewhat at peace again. Truly; he felt a wave of respect gather in him for the woman who’d faced such a terrifying trauma and yet still stood strong and as proud as ever.

“I’ve never heard of any myths tell of that; I would have thought it would have been celebrated for a Goddess of Spring to survive and escape the darkness all on her own. Why aren’t you?” he asked gently again, growing bold in her honesty. They were talking, speaking as equals instead of mortal enemies and it felt so good to talk to a familiar again.

“Of course not; I covered it up so none of the Olympians would use it as a weakness that they could take advantage of. Your father can never know of it ... I can never show weakness on that front but Hecate knows. It’s pretty much the reason why me and Hecate get along so well – well that and she is a pretty badass lady with her witchy powers and all. Don’t tell her I said that though because that girl is seriously not in need of another ego boost at the moment!” Persephone/Kore spoke dismissively, as she obviously used the comedy of the memories to hide her real pain that shone from her eyes. She didn’t want to be adored for her captivity, didn’t want to be followed around by her trauma, didn’t want to be defined by it even if it meant concealing the event from those she loved. How hadn't he noticed how broken she looked before?

“Hazel speaks highly of her!” Nico supplied in order to help her get pasted the obvious amount of sober and awkward air of Persephone/Kore as she attempted to hide her weaknesses like before. Changing the topic was the only way Nico saw to keep the conversation alive at that point.

“And Hecate speaks highly of Hazel; been moaning ever since the war ended and Hazel refused her tutelage. Keeps going on and on about the stubbornness of Hades and how badass she could make your sister if given a chance and a couple of months of tutoring. Practically wants to adopt her just like Hestia does with you!” Nico looked at her with shock; not quite believing it. He believed that his little (maybe older – Nico didn’t know) sister could cultivate respect from the Goddess of witchcraft well enough. After all; it was Hazel Levesque, one of the strongest people he’d known except perhaps Reyna, but Hestia actually thought highly of him. That was something he couldn’t understand.

“Hestia?” he asked as he pondered the reason for this statement. Why would Hestia want to adopt him? Of course; he always spoke to the Goddess whenever he saw her because he recognised a forgotten and lonely soul a mile away. She was quite sweet actually, with a quick wit and a golden smile that made him forget everything bad in his life for a few moments. They spoke about various things; the dangers that the Camp was in, the exploits of the God’s past mistakes and other frivolous things but all the time she’d been patient with him as she walked him through various issues he was confused about like she was his elder sister Bianca reborn to explain the actual usage of the strange bleeping thing people spoke into (a telephone). Even in the underworld, Nico had seen and spoken to her, and this was often very curious because Gods as Nico knew could not enter the domain of others without permission. Perhaps it was the presence of the flame which allowed her entry or the fact that Hades, no matter you’re actual opinion on it, was really a home to everyone – the last home they could ever have. Either way; she was probably the most easily approachable and kindest Goddess he’d ever spoken to and a feeling of joy came over him at being considered worthy enough to be adopted by the woman.

“Yeah; she’s been whispering your praises ever since you spoke to her that night years ago at the campfire. Thankfully she’s been a little less melodramatic than Hecate but still just as fiercely proud of the man you have become. The House of Hades’ pride and joy, she calls you both with you being the pride because of your awe-inspiring bravery and Hazel being his joy because of her sweet and yet vicious temperament. I do have to give you a word of warning though because I’m pretty sure I saw her with her knitting needles out again and last time that happened there was a minor incident where Zeus was cursed to keep spitting out strands of wool every time he spoke because he insulted her technique. Love that girl but she’s a little scary when she forgets the whole 'peace is love' routine and goes dark side; so be sure to take whatever knitted monstrosity she gives you with good faith because I’d hate to admit you to the Underworld with a similar injury!” Persephone/Kore used her elbow to gentle poke him in the stomach lightly as a small chuckle escaped him. The idea of Zeus with a mouthful of rainbow coloured wool was absurdly funny to him, and the praise given by Persephone/Kore was beyond words. He was his father’s greatest pride? Warmth filled pleasure at being acknowledged and praised by the Goddess filled him up with a strong conviction to do his father proud from that moment on. He would give honour to the House of Hades; and he would dedicate his life to establishing a reputation of respect for his family among those who’d snarked at him. Suddenly the cruel comments of the girls seemed less and less significant when this knowledge was given to him. After all; he was his father’s pride and they were just mean idiots who barely even knew their parents. Take that!

“Maybe she’ll turn my head into a ball of yarn or strangle me with a knitted rainbow noose?” he snorted in laughter at the idea, please let that actually be a thing! He would give both arms to sit in on that person as they approached the halls of judgement with that around their necks. Just the look on Jefferson’s face would have been worth it!

“More likely she’ll stick the needle where the sun doesn’t shine. That reminds me; I have a gift for you!” Persephone/Kore looked away, so she could pick through what looked like a very packed woven backpack beside the picnic basket with an expression of apprehension on her face as well as annoyance because it wasn’t obviously where she could reach it. A few small cursed mutters and finally she faintly cheered quietly as she held out a little silver rectangular device to him that looked completely alien. A telephone maybe, but he’d never seen something like this before.

“I have no clue what this is?” he asked as he carefully studied the small thing with furrowed eyebrows. Connected to it was a long dangling set of earphones but the device could have been a flying saucer for all he knew.

“It’s an iPod, long story short the creator of it annoyed me so now he’s fixing the Underworld Wifi for eternity and as a result so I got possession of it and its been sitting unused for a few years until I thought of you. It’s a music device that the mortals created; just use the little wheel to change the song and change the volume. I’ve downloaded a couple thousand songs onto it and thought that maybe if you ever feel like everything is getting too much that you can just plug it in and get some peace and quiet away from everything. Most of the selection is early 20th century music like swing but there’s some Blues, some Jazz and even a couple early rock ‘n’ roll tracks that I thought might make you feel more at home. Just flick through it and you can make your own mind up; and if you don’t like anything then just tell one of the Campers and they will be able to help you modify it with their laptops. Its got warding so it won’t attract any monsters and near indestructible so you won’t have to worry about accidentally destroying it. Even managed to replicate the spell that Percy has on that silly sword of his so it won’t get lost in the middle of the battle! What do you think?” Nico was stunned to receive a gift with such obvious heartfelt intent behind it. She was giving him a lifeline, a way to block out the darkness and retreat into nostalgia and peaceful memories. He looked at her for a moment, before pulling her close into an intimate embrace in thanks for the regard she had shown him as he tucked the device into his pocket. Ever since Bianca died; Nico had found himself unable to stand physical contact but for at least this time he let down that guard, so he could properly treat his new … friend with the same intimate thought as she did him. He whispered a thank-you to her for the present; smiling at the feeling of warmth that radiated down her dark skin onto his pale hands. Was this what it felt like when Maria Di Angelo held him close?

“You are very welcome, Nico, now if I’m not mistaken there was something that forced you out here and I’m anxious to make sure that you are safe here so I’m not going to ask for details – only if there is someone here who is making you unhappy!” a sharp look of hidden yet still present anger revealed a little more of the mysterious nature of his step-mother. A hidden vicious creature dedicated to protecting her own; a mama bear waiting to maul anything that harmed her family. The thought brought him comfort as he tried to piece together a real reason for his presence on the cold shores of the beach front.

It was difficult; but Nico tried to answer as truthfully as he could. “It’s just … I feel lost. I’ve been trying to repair my life ever since … ever since Bianca died but every time I take a step forward – everyone else just shoves me away. I hear them whispering, you know, about me being weaker than the other members of the Seven. It’s been a week since the War ended and still I’m out of breath if I train for longer than an hour and my shadow travelling is extremely temperamental so I’m not free to go where I want where people don’t stare at me as I pass them by. It’s like every time I go anywhere in this stupid camp here’s always going to be whispers and cruel gossip said about me and it hurts because I am trying but I just don’t know what else to do. They won’t let me train new campers because they say I haven’t recovered and been cleared by my Doctor yet, but I know it’s because they don’t want their younger siblings around me. They don’t want me anywhere near them because …. Because they think I’ll infect them. They think I’ll make them go dark, that I’m dangerous and thus not to be trusted around them. They call me names behind my back; monster, freak, demon child, abomination and I just can’t tell them to stop because then they will flinch away in fear again and … and … I know I won’t survive that. They said it today before breakfast - right in front of Hazel who must have overheard the whole thing and now I think she's going to be disgusted with me so I've probably just lost my sister or at the very best left her to their mercy like a coward because I can't stand other people's judgements on me. It’s worse on nights on the bonfire though as the Seven keeps trying to get me involved in their games but each time they do it just makes it worse because they reference or have games that I don’t know about. I was born before all of it and its embarrassing to keep having to ask for explanations like I’m stupid. I get confused all the time and their explanations just make me more confused and round and round it goes till someone starts laughing and then I have to just run out of there because I’m sure by that point that they hate me. Then I have to face the dark again because of course I have to escape through shadow travelling and what used to be something that reassured me – now it just feels suffocating and my senses just go all over the place like there’s something watching me, and I just can’t see it. I see things, flashes of Tartarus in the dark that torment me and forces me to a state of panic like before. It happens a lot at night too; in fact, I’m completely terrified of sleeping because every time I close my eyes my mind tells me that there’s a monster just in front of me about to hurt me and kill my sister because I wasn’t alert or strong enough to stop it. Then I have to consider Hazel, whose got her own life ahead of her with Frank and New Rome, and though I know it’s wrong – I don’t want her to go. I don’t want to lose another sister, but I have to keep quiet because it’s wrong to guilt her into staying with me instead of allowing her to do what she loves. So, I stay quiet but it’s just killing me because I’ll lose her and Reyna and then there’s a chance that they will forget about me. Everyone leaves me; they say they won’t, but the winter break is coming, and people are going to leave camp to go back to their families. Piper is heading home with Jason, Percy and Annabeth are going to Sally’s and I’ll be left all alone again. Why do I always get left behind?”

Nico started to breath heavily as a second panic attack began to creep in and his instincts were fighting to make him leave the previous safety of the picnic blanket for the shadows, so he could breakdown in private. He resisted though; knowing that he neither had the energy to do so nor the will as he knew now that Persephone/Kore would protect and comfort him through it. He trusted her to do that.

“Look at me Nico! Look at me; and believe me when I tell you that you will never, never be alone again. Your friends will not leave you – sure they have their own lives, but you can visit them any time you want, and New Rome is your home too as an Ambassador to Pluto, so you can go with Hazel and be with her if you ever wanted to. No one will abandon you again; I give my oath on the River Styx that I won’t either. I will be here, Hazel will be there, Reyna will be there, Jason will be there, hell even Percy will be there. Whatever those girls said about you will not change that. You are not alone; I give my word!” He watched her eyes for any hint of treachery but saw nothing but truthful honesty and soft concern that radiated from her very being. Nico considered her words; considering how she may be right and how different his life was now from the scared yester years of before. He often forgot or mistook his friend’s interest in him to be malevolent in nature, a consequence of living in seclusion for so long, and he knew that was something he’d have to work on in the future if he decided to let them in.

Nico noted for the first time a small journal lying open with small cursive writing littering the page on the Goddess’ lap along with a small ballpoint pen in her hand. “What are you writing?” he asked, curious at its appearance. When had that appeared? Somewhere between his rant and almost-breakdown he supposed, and Nico tried to twist his head, so he could read the neat yet old fashioned notes that littered the pages of the tanned leather book. It seemed old, not ancient times old though – more like something you would find in the early 20th century given its relative faded colour from the slightly tinted yellowing pages. A curious thing; perhaps she had been writing in it something to do with her duties as Queen of the Underworld while he spoke – not out of rudeness but rather a small occupation like the other campers had to calm their ADHD tendencies. Did the Gods have ADHD and Dyslexia too?

“When I was recovering from Tartarus; Hecate suggested that I should write a list of activities and tasks to do to keep my body active and to improve my situation by taking a long, hard look at my flaws and how to fix them. While you have been speaking; I’ve been drafting a similar list for you and how I help you along with your recovery process. You are free to disagree or argue with them if you wish but I do ask that you trust me enough to see that I am trying to help you out rather than just overdoing it and that I have good reasons for each of these tasks that I hope you take into account. Do you trust me enough to allow that?” Persephone/Kore asked honestly, with a slight hint of nervousness that betrayed her fears to him that he did not trust nor think good enough of her to think that her actions were with good intentions. Nico’s face softened as he slowly finished the slice of bread that she’d given him before as he considered the option of listening to her. If she had been through Tartarus and knew the same trauma that Nico’s mind (now free from the restraints of wartime) was battling than it stood to reason that she was the best person to help with his problems.

He was nervous though since taking suggestions and doing another’s bidding wasn’t exactly easy for him but the hope of getting better and recovering from his wounds made the offer very desirable. He wanted to fix himself, to restore himself to the bubbling and happy child he was when he first came to Camp Half-blood all those years ago, if not just for himself but also for the sake of Hazel and those who he knew were concerned for him like Reyna and Jason – with the two of them being Nico’s almost siblings thanks to their acceptance and patience with him. Will often tried to do it but he ... he couldn't talk to him about these things because of how he felt about him and the awkward air that surrounded him now that Nico knew he liked the Doctor but couldn't do anything about it out of fear of being rejected or attacked as a perverted freak. But with Persephone he wouldn't have that would he since she was ... well not as close to all of this as the rest of them were. She was an unbiased sounding board who'd be able to empathise with him a lot better than most because of their shared experiences; so why not take her up on her offer?

Finally, after thinking the offer over fully, he spoke up “I think I can do that; what do you suggest I do?”

“Well; first I think we have to deal with your obvious self-esteem issues so tomorrow I’m asking you if you would allow me to make the arrangements for you, Hazel and me to go visit some friends of mine in Brooklyn to help fix that. These friends are completely trustworthy and have a deep amount of affection for me, so they will find the prospect of helping us to be a privilege since I do help them out at times with a few minor scuffles with ancient bad spirits when I have the time. Now; I know you already are aware of other Pantheons existing in the world because of a certain incident involving that flea bag Anubis in New Orleans last winter so it’s not going to be such a shock to you when I reveal that the Celtic Pantheon does exist in America. They are very reclusive and don’t get involved in mortal stuff much anymore, but they are willing to help us out and thus lets us all avoid my fellow Goddesses for a while as we can all agree Aphrodite is a little too much at times to be allowed. Now; when we head to Brooklyn the first thing I suggest to do is to meet with a friend of mine called Clíodhna since she’s pretty easy going and humorous with others not to mention she is the Celtic Goddess of Beauty, so I suggest we work on your wardrobe, hair, and outer appearance first with her help. Don’t worry about the cost – I’m married to the God of Riches – and don’t worry about looking ridiculous. Look at me; I have an excellent eye for fashion and Clíodhna has never steered me wrong. Plus; I think Hazel would love some time with her favourite brother to bond over bad 1930 fashion choices and that sort of thing is a normal experience for any sibling, so it will help normalise you back into peace time life. There will be no danger from monsters either since they have learned to leave me and those around me alone, so you’ll be perfectly safe! What do you say about that?” Persephone peered at him, as if to ask whether she was being too forward with her suggestions.

Truthfully; Nico was excited to have a break from Camp life and to have some bonding time with his family. He knew his choice of clothing wasn’t exactly the best so having his sister alongside him would be of help and he loved to spend time with her anyway. The girl was seriously one of the most powerful yet astute people he’d ever known, and he was fiercely proud of the woman she had become and, so he did not mind her accompanying them. He had also never visited Brooklyn before because of the Egyptians being annoying and thus not exactly the best place for a child of a Greek Pantheon to go. Honestly from what he had witnessed of Anubis himself; he couldn’t care less for the Egyptians if he tried because that dog-boy was truthfully completely up himself and egotistical to the last as if he was better than him just because his Pantheon was slightly older. Ass. The news that there was another Pantheon in the borough came as a bit of shock, what’s next the Pantheon of holiday spirits? Was Santa Claus going to start yet another apocalypse and the Easter Bunny’s Demi-God – would that be a right name for it – children going to have to stop it? Honestly it made his head hurt. “So, the Celtic Pantheon is real too? Well I suppose we can meet with her; I could do with some changes of clothes – I’ve been sort of borrowing Camp clothes for a while now and I keep having hair fly in my face when I’m training so that’s ok! What else?”

“Well; Clíodhna rooms with another friend of mine called Brigid, Celtic Goddess of healing, so I think she’ll be perfect at doing a through health check to help you base your recovery in. She’s very soft spoken so you’ll feel at ease with her as she makes sure that you are well taken care of. We would want to check on the condition of your teeth, eyes, and other minor injuries you’ve taken this week that I’m sure will greatly benefit you in ordinary life. I would recommend normally for the camp infirmary, but I’ve seen their equipment and supplies so Brigid might be able to do a better job than them at the moment while they deal with the worst of the injuries from the battle. Though; that being said you may want to visit them anyway to talk to that really cute blond one since he seems very interested in your welfare!” Nico spluttered at the accusation; now how did she know about him? Honestly he was going to kick Percy Jackson's ass for spreading rumors like that around camp - did he want Nico to get lynched or beaten up?

Of course, Will would be mildly interested, not every day you stop a fading case Nico supposed, but to show it to his step-mother enough for her to take notice? He considered the Doctor for a moment as he tried his best to recall every interaction they had ever had together. Now; Nico had little to no experience with flirting so perhaps … no. No, not again. He’d just told Percy that he had a past crush on him and that was the worst thing he’d ever had to experience in his life. Sure; he liked the guy a little – it was hard not to what with his way of getting along with pretty much everyone, the fact that he’s got that kind, caring, and empathetic aura around him that people go mad for and he was extremely … athletically built. He was the son of the sun God and looked every bit the part with his strikingly kind blue eyes, nimble surgeon’s fingers and that really annoying trait of being so tall that Nico felt he’d have to stand on a chair just to make the height distance bearable.

The eldest son of Apollo was definitely attractive, therefore, but Nico’s stay in the infirmary had exposed him to a few quirks that somehow had endeared him to the Ghost King. Like his obsession with documentaries about horrible medical accidents and serial killers that Nico accidentally found out about because he’d borrowed the guy’s phone in order to learn more about the modern age and found a tv watchlist for what looked like every gory drama, documentary and horror show imaginable. Then was his habit of sleeping pretty much anywhere when he was on a really long shift and couldn’t find it within himself to leave the infirmary but was falling asleep on his feet. Several times while trying to sneak out, Nico had found him lying down in between medical cots or underneath desks or even one time against the giant industrial bin behind the big house for all the used materials from the infirmary, leftovers from dinner and Nico had almost broke a rib laughing at the image of the guy practically sandwiching himself between foul smelling garbage in order to catch a few winks of sleep.

Ok … maybe Nico had been a little slow to say he was intrigued by the blonde Doctor but there was no way in Hades that Will felt anything other than Doctor-Patient empathy with him was there? I mean there was that time on the second day of Nico’s imprisonment in the infirmary that Will opened up about his childhood in Texas and how he missed his ‘ma’ and the way of doing things over there in a way that just wouldn’t line up in Nico’s mind to be Doctorly manners. Nico remembered for a moment the adorable frown on Will’s face as he spoke enthusiastically about how the dining pavilion’s magic just couldn’t quite replicate the right way of making sweet tea and how many sweeteners he’d had to add in order to get it decent enough to be drinkable. He’d also come to learn about a strange obsession of Will in that he always wanted to own chickens because all his friends had them at school, but his mom never bought them because of how annoying the clucking would be in the morning – a sore point that would make his upper lip go into a sort of pout that damn near made Nico walk into a wall because it was so fucking adorable. He also remembered the heat of his cheeks when one of the Demeter girls began to have a really animated conversation in Spanish with Will; and how when he heard Will’s southern drawl mix with the Spanish quickly paced manner Nico almost walked straight up to the guy and kissed him on his damn sweet-talking mouth. Will said it was because so many families in his community immigrated over so the school board offered a couple night classes to some of the kids so they could integrate better and with Will being a complete southern gentlemen – he’d dedicated himself to being able to hold his own against them in conversational Spanish as a result. Nico’s cheeks flared pink at the memory; what was he talking about again?

“Will is just doing his job, that’s it!” he quickly blurted out as fast as he could when he noticed Persephone’s grin had grown big and bigger at the dazed silence that her words threw him into. How long had he been gaping at her as he tried to splutter together an appropriate response; an embarrassingly long time his mind supplied. Nico quickly wanted to slap himself in the head, but his head replied with a few choice images of Will in slightly suggestive poses that his 1930s mind just couldn't cope with without going into full blown blush mode so he decided to just think about his favourite things to keep his mind focused. Hazel, Ghosts, Playing with Cerberus, murder, magic tricks, Hazel - murdering Hazel's boyfriend Frank whenever he tried to kiss his innocent sister a little too much - hell even a few planned pranks that he'd blame on the Stolls and secretly bust a gut laughing from the side-lines. All the good things!

“Really Nico; I’ve been living with your father for how many years now and I know his traits when he’s brooding over someone he loves – our dining table still has the marks from where he carved my name when he was still trying to pluck up the bravery to court me – so who are you trying to fool!” Persephone teased as she took a small sip of her sherry with a pronounced raised left eye brow that just empathised her point. Nico’s back prickled with the accusation, but her tone didn’t sound like she’d be launching into a sermon on the sins of homosexuality. Rather it was maternal, soft and gentle but with the added hint in the background that she could kick my ass if I lied to her.

“It … it doesn’t bother you?” Nico tried to process her seemingly easy acceptance of him as a homo; was it really this easily accepted in modern times? The girls from before and the whispers around camp told him that there was still people with prejudices against being gay, but Nico remembered the faces of Jason and Reyna when they found out about him. They accepted him just as quickly as Persephone presumably was now, almost effortlessly putting to rest his fears over being lynched for something he’d hidden for so long. It just seemed so implausible to him that it was almost laughable!

“Nico; where do you think I spend my time in the underworld? The Fields of Punishment? No – I hang out in the fields of Elysium and believe me that place is a hot bed for sexual promiscuous behaviour and you’d be surprised at how many gay couples end up there. For Olympian sake; I walked in on Achilles and Patroclus one time and I still don’t know how they bent their limbs that way but believe me it was very much an education in relationships. Gods above; the only other person I ever loved apart from your father ... was a woman so you don't have to worry about judgement from my end. You are gay; and that makes perfect sense to me so know that the only issue I have is with whoever breaks your heart because you may need to form a line of people who’d beat the living daylights out of that asshole! Other than that; I promise you that I have absolutely no issue with your sexuality in the slightest!” she smiled up at him as she gently cupped his face, so he could meet her eyes and see the soft truth to her words, but loosely so if he wanted to he could back away from the contact without much fuss. He wondered after the identity of this mystery woman Persephone had spoken of and whether Hades knew about this before judging that to be a little too personal a thing to ask someone. He also thought about his talks with Achilles before in the underworld and if one of the fiercest warriors in history could be engaged in a long-term relationship beyond the grave then maybe … just maybe Nico could try again when he was ready and healed from the heartbreak that was Percy Jackson.

“But so many people say that it’s wrong … I’ve seen it! They say it’s a sin, an abomination! How can you be ok with it?” he prodded as he voiced the basis of his underlying fears about coming out and starting again with a guy he’d developed an attraction to. She wouldn’t judge him for his words, it seemed, but he had to make sure. Had to be sure that she wasn’t going to hurt him and that she was telling the absolute truth.

Nico leaned into her touch; the warmth of her hands on his cheeks was so refreshingly sweet, as he savoured the feeling in case she rejected him like so many had before her.

“You are talking to the Queen of the Underworld, Nico, I know what is a sin and what is not. You are not sinful for loving a man just because you are a man as well nor am I sinful for loving both men and women equally. Actually; that reminds me actually since the third thing we are doing after your check-up is we are going to the Brooklyn Public Library for some informational books on that subject and to catch you up on current historical events, so you don’t feel like this oblivious time traveller anymore. I have an in-date library card to get us in and the staff there are very friendly, so you shouldn’t feel too awkward on asking for help on such things. Believe me; being educated on such things will definitely help in establishing you as a Camper here not to mention I’d recommend talking to the Isis cabin when you can because they host LGBT+ party nights which would provide a talking board to discuss any complaints or confusion you have over it. But first; let me assure you that you are not and will not ever be an abomination – I swear that to you!” she spoke as one of her hands left his cheek to draw a crude cross over her heart to accentuate the point across to him - with a thin glimmer of a golden outline where her finger drew remained for a few seconds before fading away. A Goddess' promise, Nico reminded himself, a binding contract that meant she was serious and wouldn't break her word - he'd learned about it a little from Hestia when they talked a while back.

A library, Nico thought, well, … maybe that wouldn’t be too bad. Books were always a little difficult for Nico to read thanks to his dyslexia, but he trusted in them a lot more than people. Books gave facts, figures and knowledge that could be trusted to inform – people gave judgements, biases and emotional arguments based on nothing but opinion. It would be nice to understand the nature of what he was – a diagram of why he was this way and what this way actually meant for him. Not to mention he was pretty tired of not knowing about basic historical contemporary events and the fact that his education was pretty stunted. He liked to know things, liked to be able to know what people were on about and being a kid from the 1930s – Nico wanted to see how things from his era was viewed in retrospect.

But the second option … that he wasn’t ready for yet.

“Ok; the library will be good idea to see, Hazel loves books so she’ll adore us for taking her and you’d be able to distract her with some Keats or Rossetti while I have a look but the whole Isis thing … I’m scared of that. I mean I know I have to confront it, I do, and I know somehow everyone has managed to find out about it but the prospect of talking about it publicly …. Still feels kind of wrong to me. I don’t want to discuss it openly, nor do I want to confirm everyone’s beliefs on it, until I’m comfortable so maybe give that thing a pass for now!” Persephone nodded, and a breath of relief escaped from Nico as she slowly lowered her hands from his cheeks to grasp his hands in support. It was so nice to have someone to talk to after so long without company; to have a person ready to jump in and fix his broken soul was something he’d been craving for years and low and behold here was his previous evil stepmother coming to his rescue and waving her magic wand – or glass of sherry – around to help with that. Though Nico was adamant that if she broke out singing; Nico was going to pelt her with strawberries until she looked like a walking, talking fondue.

“Ok; that’s perfectly fine! Just know that people in camp are there for you in that regard and if ever you do have an issue – they are there to ask and I know they value confidentiality so don’t be scared to do so. Now the next thing on the table is you are under weight and in desperate need of bulking up, so I’d recommend that when we leave you should pack a backpack of small snacks to take with you so that you can build up your calorie intake without the pressures of a main meal. I’d also recommend taking a water bottle or two and filling it at breakfast with a smoothie or shake so to help keep you hydrated. I’ll have a talk with Hephaestus about making a magic one that is constantly refilling itself afterwards; he owes me a favour anyway for the vine prank he pulled on Aphrodite three weeks ago so that should help you there!” Nico fixed her with an uncertain smile as her eyes drifted to his small frame in concern. His weight was a little bit of a sore point at this point because of Will fucking Solace’s constant prodding at dinner for him to consume platefuls of endless healthy salads and bread rolls. He was on the small side of course, anaemic Will fucking Solace had said once, but he had good reason to be – a fact that Will didn’t quite appreciate.

“It’s just … ever since the Jar I’ve found it harder and harder to eat a full meal. It’s like my stomach has shrunken down and no matter what I do it just won’t let me eat enough to feel content. I’ll consider the water bottle idea – it’s a good one and it might be handy when on quests when food is hard to come by – so I’d appreciate you helping me out on that one!” Persephone smiled sweetly at him at the concession to her plan of action. Maybe if he started drinking his calories instead of eating them, that might trick his stomach into getting bigger again after the Jar incident. Easily transportable calories that he could down without too many problems and still flash in the face of Will fucking Solace whenever he saw him. Perfect.

“It’s fine, I’m here for you, anyway aren’t I? Anyway; as I was talking about with getting help from the other cabins – I also think you should be talking to the Hypnos kids because you honestly look like death warmed over and you need to stabilise your sleeping patterns with routine and safety nets to keep it in place. I’d recommend buying a sketch pad and a night light while we are in Brooklyn for that as it may allow your mind to deal with the horrors of Tartarus and dispel your fears over the darkness if a small light is on at all times in your room. Lots of people need them so it shouldn’t be too hard to come by to obtain while we are there. And finally, I’d also recommend getting a calendar, so you can plan ahead for the future – remember you have free reign over yourself and no one can decide your fate but you. Make your own path, go to school and study something you love. Fall in love. Visit your father and me in the Underworld. Travel the world. Go thrill seeking by riding roller coasters. Anything you want – you do, and you do to the fullest because from now on its your life to live. Maybe even explore your own Italian culture by taking a trip to Little Italy when you are strong enough – that might be fun! Just live life, Nico, and don’t waste one moment of it!” Persephone pulled him closer into a gentle yet final hug; and Nico wanted nothing more than to burrow closer and be wrapped in the concern and safety of her embrace. While Nico loved personal space and not touching people, this embrace was excepted from that preference because it filled him with such reassurance and care that he was pretty sure, yet another apocalypse could start, and Nico wouldn’t be any wiser. Please let her keep her word, Nico prayed desperately, please don’t leave me alone again.

He pulled away, slowly and remorsefully, but he knew being held too long was not going to help matters further. Fortunately; Persephone didn’t seem to mind as she quickly gathered up the items of the picnic into the basket, folded the blanket they were sitting on into an impossibly small cracker sized square and then pulled him to his feet with a steady yet gentle hand. With a sweeping gesture; both the basket and the backpack quickly disappeared into the void, as she smoothed down his hair, pulled the sheep fleece blanket around him more securely, and then looped her arm round his like he was her knight and she his lady. “Good, now let’s get you into bed – you look like you’re going to drop any moment!” she laughed quietly as Nico found himself smiling genuinely at her coddling.

What a surprising twist to a god-awful day, Nico mused, pun a little intended.


	3. POV - Hazel

**_Falling Down and Getting back up:_ **

**_By R. L. Collins_**

* * *

_I have a big brother!_

Hazel smiled widely as she felt herself become lighter and more happier than she'd ever been before at the safety and warmth of being at last able to bond with her sibling. She had dreamed often in her old life in New Orleans and later Alaska to have a sibling to play with and protect her against her mother's temperamental mood swings, and now she had one in her big brother Nico whom she could share everything with. She joyfully walked with him to breakfast, delighting in the fact that today was so peaceful and warm from the hot summer sun that would help her plans bear fruit as Nico's temperament drastically improved when exposed to the quiet light of morning. The night before, Hazel had been startled awake by a sudden revelation that she didn't know much about her brother and now in the light of day she was determined that today she would finally crack the hard shell of mystery that was Nico Di Angelo. She knew the small things about him; how polite he was to the outcasts of the world, how brilliantly sarcastic and snarky his mind worked, and how desperately loving he was towards those who had the fortune to be loved by one Nico Di Angelo but beyond that he was a stranger to her. Who was this boy who'd taken on Titans, Giants, Monsters and mad men? What drove him to protect his loved ones with such overwhelming gusto that he'd been rendered infirm in the camp's hospital for three days as they worked to combat his rapidly fading and weak body? How did he still retain his gentle nature despite everything?

She bumped his side playfully as he made a rather funny remark about how Clarisse La Rue had nearly eaten him alive when he accidentally woke up her godchild with his loud Italian mannerisms when he was arguing with Coach Hedge about the healing powers of dirt - delighting in this easy going version of him that was so charismatically content that she felt herself hung on every word. When she suggested breakfast that morning; Hazel was so grateful for her big brother's escort so they could bond in such a way as this and the opportunity to get him to eat after living on barely anything for so long. She was finally feeling useful in helping her brother to regain his strength and heal from the trauma of the past that it threatened to overwhelm her with delight at finding out his rather cutting yet playful personality hidden under the angst and pain of his exterior. It also helped to eliminate the worries she'd felt about entering the dining Pavilion in Camp Half-blood on her own as before when she was at Camp Jupiter she preferred to eat in her quarters or outside out of pure habit as she had always done since childhood so having Nico with her was wonderfully pleasing in that she never found herself feeling worried when in her big brother's presence because she knew he would always keep her safe. Hazel, after all, was from another time when people like her weren't supposed to go into big public areas like the Pavilion with the rest of the children because they were seen by the other white kids as 'making the food smell funny' or 'dirtying the civilised atmosphere with their negro ways'. The first time she'd ever eaten in the boundaries of Camp Jupiter after being resurrected; Hazel had been absolutely terrified of eating in the fancy Roman dinner halls and had practically started shaking at the prospect of actually sitting down at the table with the white kids for fear of being attacked for not understanding her place. It was Frank who had calmed her down enough to force the small bowl of soup down her throat but even with him there, she still took to eating quietly and in solitude in the corners near the exits just in case and when she got to Camp Half-blood - it was no exception as she normally hid in the quiet areas of the Big House so as not to get in trouble. With Nico there though; she finally felt safe enough to walk outside in public without fear as she knew him to be the strongest warrior brother she'd ever had the luck to have.

And they were able to talk so that was massively encouraging in growing their sibling relationship into a lasting one. They were really talking, not about Camp life or fighting or Frank or medical stuff, but real brother and sister talking while she sipped from the novelty 'Life is short, so am I' water bottle Nico had given her the night of the Victory Bonfire when kept complaining about the line at the refreshment table. She'd learned little things about him like his favourite breakfast meal being marmalade on toast, Italian brewed capachinno was his go-to coffee order, his obsession with magic tricks that made him shadow travel to various events to see the modern greats in comparison to his hero Houdini (of whom Nico cursed for not living long enough for Nico to see preform in person), the fact that he always double-knotted his shoes before getting up in the morning, and even the when his birthday was (January 28th, 1924 and with hers being December 17th, 1928 they had agreed that he was to be the elder sibling). It was amazing to see him open up and speak about how annoying Americans were with their unbelievably intricate coffee orders and stupid accents that made America seem like a theme park complete with crazy characters and bad food. He was so enthusiastic; so confident and charming that Hazel accidentally choked on a sip of water when he started making these ridiculous puns (Why do ghosts use elevators? To raise their spirits). The water tasted slightly off, but Hazel put that down to it being left in the hot sun while the two of them argued about shower times and having to literally near tackle Nico to get him to allow her to redress the werewolf scars on his arm as his Doctor had told him to do, so the choking fit nearly made her gag when it got stuck at the back of her mouth. It made her stop and hunch over a little, as Nico went a little ahead still making jokes - not yet realising that she'd stopped.

Then he just went rigid as he stopped in his tracks as he had stood stock still with his back to her.

Confused, she jogged towards him but as she moved there was like this ... fuzzy feeling in the back of her head that just wouldn't go away. She'd squeezed and blinked several times in an attempt to make the blurriness go away, shaking her head slightly to clear it, as she neared him from his left. "Nico?" she called, finding her throat dry and itchy like a hundred pieces of sand had lodged its way inside of it as she alerted him to her approach as she always did so she wouldn't spook him. Concern flooded her face as she noticed the sliver of sweat on his brow, his eyes wide with shock, and his complexion so pale that Hazel thought that he might as well be a stone. Her mind was clouded though so she didn't have the alertness in her to reach forward to stop him as he took a slow and horrified step back as he entered the shade of a nearby tree and disappeared. The dizziness of her mind at that moment had made her stumble slightly as her eyes took in the sight of her big brother fleeing her side as she struggled to understand the situation. "What ...?" she'd mumbled as she forced herself to concentrate on the spot where her brother had once been before she realised what had happened. Nico was gone. Nico. Was. Gone. Why was Nico gone?

"... see that? Abandoned his little sambo bitch like the fucking little greaser he is, not just a faggot but a motherfucking coward!" A voice raised above the misty soup that was her mind at that moment. Hazel had felt herself take a sudden intake of breath as she tried to look at its source; a daughter of Ceres (Demeter) with mucky brown hair and eyes who wore her Camp Half-blood orange T-shirt tied in a knot around her waist to show off a lot of skin and a small Jeans shorts which had made Hazel's 1930s sensibilities want to cringe. She closed her eyes at the sight of the orange, finding the colour to be too vivid for her eyes to handle at that moment, as she had tried to remain upright despite gravity pulling her down instinctively to her knees in fear over the girl's words. The slurs had made her instinctively want to flee, to hide and keep herself away from big crowds that might have the same opinion. A layer of bile grew within her throat at the recognised reference to her brother - Nico wasn't a coward! Nico was brave. Nico was strong. Nico was her brother. How dare they, Hazel had thought as she forced herself to look the girl in the eye despite her instincts telling her to back down and be submissive so as to avoid punishment for offending the white girl. A big patronising grin was on the girl's face as she gloated in her victory over ... over ... she had driven her brother away. Nico had fled because of this white bitch who'd ... who had done what?

The bitter resentment building in her ego over being patronised battled at that moment with her ingrained notions of bowing to the demands of the girl to avoid being attacked. Her pride had been smarted over having her brother referred to in such a demeaning and horrifying manner, as the thought overcame her inner fear of confrontation to trigger a new range of emotions that bubbled inside her frothy mind. A bestial sense of ... pack loyalty overcame her - this girl was hurting her sibling, need to protect pack, have to find pack, not safe else, and strength in numbers. Her mind had blurred at the sudden sense of animal instincts that were overtaking her; 'have to protect my pack' was all her mind at that time was thinking as the fog began to clear in front of the primitive barrage of consciousness. The primitive animalistic mindset had twisted her perception as new things began to grow in the place of the human one like the smell of antiseptic from the infirmary nearby on a girl's skin who was lying in a bunk near the window or the way she heard the birds in the trees panicking from the unstable earth below squawking in a way that made her instincts want to bite at them to make them stop. Her body had begun to grow ... numb to everything around her as though she had been dunked into an icy riverbed and her drowned as she began to forget to breath under the pricks of cold under her skin. It made her uncomfortable, like her body was getting ready for something her conscious and newly animalistic senses couldn't quite understand.

Then a radiating pain erupted over her body; forcing her to curl up into a foetal position on the ground as her body changed from its human form to ... something else. An itch started on her left arm, which soon grew into a prickling sensation that began to gradually run up and down her arm. The itch then went from annoying to outright painful like a thousand needles prodded her dark brown skin, or at least that's what it felt like as hairs erupted onto her arms, her face, her neck, everywhere they could go. She couldn't speak, shock and pain numbed her voice box, as long feral claws grew out in a blinding agony from where her human nails used to be and her arms and legs dislocated slightly from their spots in her joints as they reshaped themselves to this cruel new experience. She looked away for just a moment to look for help on the faces of horrified campers drawn to her by the noise of popping joints and when she looked back, large clumps of black hair had grew all over her hands as they reshaped themselves into the paw prints of a canine. No. No. NO! 

The heat was becoming unbearable, her whole body burning up like she had been chucked into a bonfire. Hazel found herself pushing herself backwards into a nearby pillar with her slightly dislocated limbs in the agony it caused as her mouth opened only to allow buckets of blood to erupt from her throat which had fallen onto the ground in a sharp splash. Her breathing became laboured as her organs began to shove up against one another. With every beat of her heart, they ballooned in size pushing out against her ribs and the soft skin of her belly looking for the room to grow as her body let loose a horrific **_CR_** ** _ACK!_   **She howled out in agony as her back arched upwards, snapping and slithering around beneath her growing thick hide of fur. Tears leaked from the corner of his eyes, running in a small stream down her burning face. Gasps were all she could manage now as her organs continued to swell within her body and with every beat of her overly large heart. Her clothes had ripped off in the pain as her ribcage popped near her sternum as her ribs expanded, though it brought relief as she finally had room to breath with her now immense lungs. _**CRACK!**   _Her chest was forced outwards as her ribs widened, pressing against her skin. The hair grew at an alarming rate at this point, all around her torso and arms. It even began to grow around her widening pelvis as her underwear ripped off to her shame. She could at that moment feel similar changes happening to her feet as they did to her hands; she could feel the pads of dead skin forming on the bottoms of her feet.

Hazel's entire body was in an inferno of pain, and she couldn't tell how long she stayed in that agonising state because all sense of time was flung out of the window by that point. Sweat poured freely from her; every spasm sent droplets of the salty liquid flying everywhere. But, the burning had settled mainly in her bones, they were expanding, stretching out her skin, and she began to reform into a different longer shape. Muscles and sinews let out weird gurgling noises as they begin to swell and thicken, filling out her stretched yet compacted form. _**CRACK! CRACK!**   _Both of her knees snapped forwards and locked in a partially bent position. Her toes started to shrink back to her feet, the bones were being compressed and were also widening spreading out the width of her feet. Her ankles bones elongated, the same pops and cracks as her insteps narrowed and lengthened, changing the entire shape of her feet, her big toe disappearing into her leg. Opening her eyes, she could see that her legs no longer looked like human legs, they resembled the back legs of a wolf; powerful and muscled, as any regular wolf would have.

Oh, by the Gods of Olympus, her terrified mind thought in horror, I look like a Goddamn Wolf. She found herself looking down at her body with a sense of horror as it twisted into something horrible and monstrous. Her emotions shifted from pain and fear to sheer terror, unabashed agony and unrelenting fear at what was happening to her. Another painful pop makes another noise leave her, but what came out was a garbled mess, her voice deepened more and more, sounding like the pained cry of a monster. The hair begins to thicken into blackish-reddish dark cinnamon coloured fur with the feeling of millions of needles poking at her skin. A thin layer of hair grew around her face, as her nose blackened, covered in moisture. There was a pressure in the front of her skull, as the bones her face push outward. At the base of her spine, a thin bone began to poke out, stretching her skin, forming a tail. It began to grow tiny hairs, pointing outward. Hazel, on all fours, backed up in utter despaired agony as shrieks escaped her pained mouth which shortly turned into blood-curdling yelps. Tears were still readily falling down her face. Hair had turned into a thick hide of fur. Her ears rose to the top of her head, expand, opening up and dramatically enhancing her hearing, resembling the ears of a canine - a wolf. Her tail pokes outward more, having grown hairs like the rest of her monstrous body until it finally fully formed, tucked between her legs. Her eyes burned as they changed, she blinked a couple of times before they became like that of a wolf, yet still retaining her rare golden coloration. Her face began to push out, even more, reshaping, forming the muzzle of a canine. A strange sensation twinged in her jaw and then her teeth changed. Fangs sliding down from the gum lining of her teeth, growing out into daggers while her molars became edged. New teeth tore through her gums to fill in the empty space. Her newfound muzzle was now equipped with fangs, larger than an average omega wolf, made for parting flesh from bone.

A fierce howl erupted as the changing finished; both in anguished confusion and in want for her instinctual desires - her pack and a good meal.

She sniffed the air as she took in the scent of the hastily retreating circle of campers that had come to watch the girl's pain in fascination as she caught many of them with distinct smells of meet for her hungry frame to consume. She could practically taste the ripeness of the sausages they'd eaten, the burned black crisp of bacon, and the watery yet salty taste of fried eggs that had stained one of the camper's shirts. The scent was delightful; a meal - her mind had thought - for her pack, must call pack to location for feeding. She stood shakily on her four legs again as her body rustled against the slightly overgrown grass of the courtyard - making the pleasant smell of fresh grass envelop her nuzzle as her eyes studied the crowd for the sight of her pack. A snarl erupted upon her failure, no pack here her mind had said as she turned around to pick up the trail - causing the crowd to flinch back in fear. Need my pack, need brother, need strength in numbers to take down this new bounty of food - her mind raced as she began to scent the area to find her sibling. The scent of family, love, and those burgers Nico loved so much caught her attention as her ears fluttered in recognition despite the weakening strength of the scent. She smelled the ground thoroughly to pick up the trail, but found a dead end as it vanished just as quickly as she had picked it up with a lingering trail of scent coming from their nest but Hazel was sure he was not there since the scent would have been stronger and she would have heard breathing coming from the cabin such was her intensely sensitive hearing. Not there, her mind had understood, not at nest, not near me, have to pick up the trail quickly or it will be lost.

She moved to go off into the inviting woods, hoping that he might be wandering there, when a body prevented her movements which left her stunned as her body instantly went into a state of intrigued desire at its sudden presence.

Hazel wanted to roll around in the scent, wanted to roll over and present her neck sensually to the Alpha in front of her so he could nip it with the carnal first steps of mating, as she felt his presence come over her. The scent was raw, masculine and definitely the scent of a potential mate so she quickly drew herself low to show off her lithe lupine form to this new male. The male was familiar but her confused and newly changed mind couldn't place him; only that there was a certain ... warmth to him that she craved to experience so she looked up to see what this new wolf was like. It wasn't a wolf, only a human but he had ... a ... animalistic scent to him that made her nose twitch in confusion as her head hung to the side in both the desire to be smelled and curiosity. He was capable of being one of her kind by the smell; she just needed to tempt him into joining her in lupine form and become head of her pack at her side.

The fur on the male was darker than hers and his pelt was a pale white, muscled from battles and definitely intriguing as she watched him approach cautiously with his hands in front to show he meant no harm. Of course he meant no harm, he was delightful and Hazel crawled on her belly slightly to approach him as she daringly glanced a touch of her snout to his leg in a moment of bravery. Nicely defined limbs were the first thought in her mind, good for chasing, hunting, and mating her full with his pups as she drew closer slightly to his side as he bent warily over a strange human thing on the ground that had her scent on. She liked that he was investigating her scent, as she let him near her with a fierce wave of pride at being noticed by this Alpha, and watched fascinated as he lifted the object off the ground slowly as he kept his nicely coloured eyes on her coy yet flattered form - they reminded her of freshly dug mud that made chases between wolf and prey more exciting. She eyed him happily as her mind wandered to her nest and the ways to make it more suitable for them both to live in and raised their pups in as her paws twitched with the need to use blankets off the bed of this man so his scent could be introduced to them straight away as their leader. Her brother would love to help raise the children, he certainly had the calming and sweet personality for it, and no doubt this man would like to have a helping second in command to keep their nest and pups safe from harm. She lay on the floor, crossing her legs underneath her head as she waited for him to stop looking at her scented object and say something so she could know the timbre of his voice.

Then a new scent approached and she snarled in irritation at it as she immediately rose to her feet at the challenger.

A female scent, Beta, and unclaimed it seemed drew close to the new male and Hazel was infuriated at the presence as well as curious at the eerily sweetness of it that remaindered her of the coolest spring water or the tastiest part of a kill. The female was smaller than she, with black fur and luminous green eyes like the leaves on a new-born sapling that was full of life and brightness. Her movements were haulting, unsure and cautious as Hazel watched her intently move towards them, making her predator senses stand on edge for this one could not change as the male did to her kind yet her mind flashed a desire otherwise. Having a second in command beta female would be useful in the long run, and Hazel wasn't unprepared to admit that the female did have her curiosities about her like the faint smell of mint that made Hazel's nose twitch or the obvious bravery at approaching a fully grown wolf without a claws or teeth drawn to protect herself. That being said - Hazel's lupine mind reasoned that because of the lack of a pack and thus the presence of immediate danger, she needed to stop this beta from breeding instead of herself in order to establish herself as the alpha female in the pack order. No, her mind screamed, need to make this clear - my mate, my pup's father, my Alpha, leave.

She pulled herself into a dominant position as she watched the new threat go near him, snarling at her presence in warning as her body reacted in kind as her lips pulled back, her fangs bared, her ears pulled forward, and her eyes grew wild and threatening. She stood tall on her feet, starting to move forward towards the threatening female as she got way too close to the male that was still holding her scent in that strange human container of some kind. A growl thundered from her throat as the female dared to touch the male, urging her to move to intercept as she placed herself dominantly in front of the startled and now retreating female who'd taken her scent marker in the exchange. In a blind she gnashed her teeth threateningly at the retreating threat, prepared completely to defend the new interesting male from others so he could see how fierce a mother she could be to their pups, snapping violently at the girls heels as she drove off the threat with almost blinding speed as the girl moved quick to avoid the biting grip of her teeth. She stared after the female in instinctual hatred as she ascertained that the girl was leaving before turned around to face the new male again who seemed to have a scent of ... fear and concern that made her whine slightly in annoyance. No, she was saying with the whine, you are mine - don't concern yourself with her, don't fear her survival, don't look at her - look at me.

Hazel decided maybe to distract him by giving invitation to play, pushing herself into a deep forward facing bow like she was stretching with her rump slightly raised and her tail wagging slightly. She whined to gain his attention as she darted to the left, happy his eyes was on hers, as she wagged her tail again to get him to at least move from his prone position. He watched her confused, as his forehead crumpled slightly and his mouth moved to a misunderstood frown to her disappointment. No playing, he didn't want to play, her mind had told her as she lowered her head in disappointment with her tail hanging limply in sadness. Her mind told her maybe he was too serious in his duties as Alpha to play; maybe he would like to see battle with rivals rather than to grab her tail teasingly as she was sure her sibling might do. Sibling lost, her mind reminded herself, as she looked towards the spot that his scent was last situated with a growl of annoyance so no playtime now - she needed to establish a pack hierarchy, get this male to help her find her sibling, and then provide a large feast big enough to allow for her body to recognise there was plenty prey available for pups.

An annoyingly high pitch laugh came from the side of her which made her snarl in rage.

"Well, well, Zhang - looks like your black bitch has become a real bitch complete with her very own tail! Look at her, isn't she pathetic trying to scare off the creepy witchling and wagging her tail like the lust-driven nigger she is! Can hardly stop herself from trying to make some half-breed pups with you from what I see, even in wolf form. What? You going to turn into a wolf too and fuck her from behind like the freak you are?" the threatening female dared to say in Hazel's presence as she approached the male violently scented as the words made the male's flesh grow pinkish in hue. His mouth fell open slightly in shock and waves of anxiety, embarrassment and shame erupted from him which only reinforced Hazel's protective mind as she again situated herself between the female and the alpha without hesitation with a threatening snarl of hate in her muzzle with growing need to kill the threat before it hurt the male or her chance of breeding pups with him. She wanted the pups mentioned so badly it physically hurt, as her instincts made her mind think of being breed full of this strong males brood with large protruding stomach and her mate's scent mark on her so strong that no other male would dare come any where near her - knowing her claimed body was for one Alpha and him alone as he was for her. She took a warning nip of the space between them as she displayed her long canine teeth in wrathful glory to protect that instinctual urge - only the female didn't back down but rather laughed again.

"What's wrong, little pup, am I insulting your owner? You know I ...!" she didn't get a chance to finish as the moment the girl decided to put a threatening hand towards her, instinct made her surge forward to clamp down on offending ligament with full force - making her canines instantly pierce into the fragile flesh of the threat and made her mouth become slick with blood as the girl screamed in agony. Not fulfilled with the holes she'd left in the flesh, she used her clamping jaws to tear further into the flesh by pulling the arm from left to right as her teeth dug in deeper to the girl's skin to the point of almost being at the bone before letting go so she could pounce on the exposed throat to bring a lethal blow down on her for her actions towards her but a body flung itself into her to throw her to the side as she did so. The male stood in front of her now in a stunning lupine form with deliciously strong limbs built for holding down his mates and a shimmering black coat that made him look threatening to his enemies; and for a moment she actually wagged her tail happily at seeing him in this more agreeable form before she noted the protective stance he took to the girl who was writhing in agony as her siblings pulled her to safety with a trail of blood spilling out of her destroyed limb.

A snarl erupted in displeasure at the thought of him taking the now mutilated bitch as his mate as she fought the urge to display her neck in submission as she had before.

Her mind couldn't comprehend such a thing, as in her soul she had already chosen him as mate, father to her unborn pups, and Alpha, so she took it as a personal affront to have him protect another like he should be protecting her. He should be on her side, helping her deal with this mangy bitch of an omega so he could form a pack with her and her sibling as Hazel wanted with her gaining the role of his Alpha mate alongside him in battle and in their nest. She stood enraged at the thought of that desire going unrecognised as her prospective mate spoke to her in the lupine language of snarls urging her to stand down but she refused with a running leap as she took a feral bite at the Alpha's left leg as she grappled him. He moved to get out of the way but she was persistent and nipped him hard enough to draw flesh blood to show her murderous intentions at being both denied her kill and her mate as she so deserved. In her mind, she started to come out of the wolf's consciousness as she remembered the moment she was human when her sibling pack mate fled the girl's snarls in fear - further driving up her wrath as she drew another slit of blood from a well aimed scratch on his thigh as he backed up to avoid her teeth and claws while still trying to make her stop with a commanding aura and scent that made her head ache as she continued not to listen. She continued to get close to nip at him as she tried to make him get out of the way so she could fulfil her sacred duty to her pack without the Alpha's interference and eventually she cornered him as she managed to get a good enough bite hold on his weakened and bleeding leg to make him whimper in pain as she brought her canines down hard enough to hit muscle and lame him as much as possible in the process. The action went against everything she should have been doing with the Alpha at the time; she should be a good breeding bitch who let her Alpha mate fill her with pups and claim her as his mate for life but family bonds pulled that biological need from her mind as she moved to go after the retreating bloodied girl enraged.

Then something pierced her leg, a small prick that at first her mind thought was that there was another Alpha that had intervened and was now trying to pull her off the other but the canine impression wasn't there - only a single tooth could have made such a impact which didn't make sense to her in the slightest. She yelped in pain as she fell to the side to avoid further attacks, tail around her legs as she whined to let her displease known. Then a reversal of pain occurred as she felt her body shrink, lengthen and generally burn back into her human form as she damn near passed out from the agony of it; whining, yelping and growling as a result. A giant blanket wrapped around her naked body as the shock kicked in at the sudden transformation back into her human form and mind as the Alpha, no man, from before reverted too but in a lot more sleeker and non-painful fashion as yellow coated, no haired, boy came to him to wrap the damaged limb spluttering in blood and to apply foul smelling things to it that made her head hurt.

A lingering yelp in her human voice occurred as someone dared to touch her again as she sat shaking in a ball on the ground, making her skin ache as it processed the stretching feeling it had been experiencing over the last few hours. "Don't!" she begged as they pulled her up, making sure the blanket covered her nakedness, so that she would stand again. It was agony on her legs, as if thousands of splinters of glass were inside of her thighs and heels, and she fought the urge to scream loudly - settling on a small groan that she tried to muffle as best she could because her confused mind couldn't figure out what danger she was now in. "Hazel!" a voice cried out ... Frank, her mind asked as it tried to reconcile him with the injured leg of the Alpha wolf from before only to near black out as he touched her burning skin. This time she couldn't stop the scream which radiated out of her, causing the ground to shake under her powers and for the plants nearby to wither and die as the girl swayed disorientated and scared at the feeling. She began to shake again, her whole body caught in a frenzied loop of agony and rage that she couldn't quite control. He tried again to touch her arm despite the scream and as a result she unconsciously nearly broke his nose with a well timed and strong slap to keep him from her twisted skin.

"Let. Me. Go!" her voice roared as she let loose an earthshattering growl that split the floor below her - though Frank dragged her away from falling down the now growing fissure. Her words were low and hoarse, and though the smaller parts of Hazel knew she should be calming down if she wanted to help her brother and figure out what had just happened - she was still enraged with being rejected, humiliated and further more harmed by his touch which caused her puckered and aching skin to blister.

" ... Hazel, this is not you. This is whatever the hell was in that water bottle so you need to take a breath and calm down so we can help you. Please stop fighting and just breathe!" his voice soothed as the scent of reassurance echoed out of him, causing her mind to feel slightly foggy again under its influence. She still tried to yank her way out of his embrace though, uncomfortable with even the most sweetest of touches as it burned her so badly that it felt like she'd been spit-roasted over a cauldron of dragon fire. The feeling of agony worsened when she began to feel the static electricity now invading the courtyard as well as the stench of another Alpha who smelled wrong and terrifying to the nose. Jason Grace, her leader and Praetor, approached her warily with his sword drawn and her eyes fixed on it as the metal itself warped under her glare so that it couldn't be used against her. Son of Zeus, her mind poisoned, not to be trusted - didn't trust Nico before, accused him of being a spy, don't trust him, he's an alpha, not safe around him, don't let him near you. She flinched out of his way on instinct, not even caring of the distinct look of hurt on his face at her reaction to him as she tried to move towards the woods to find her brother and get away from the monsters around her.

She felt Frank behind her straighten, making her come off the ground thanks to his tight hold on her struggling body from behind and his larger height - further infuriating her as now she felt the distance between her and her domain. She bit his arm hard to make him drop her down slightly, causing a little trickle of blood to enter her mouth again which she then spit out when he obeyed her request but she was still pissed by the still tight hold on her mid section which felt warm and uncomfortable in the heat. She cursed in words that mama would have washed her mouth out for speaking but she was so angry that it didn't matter because they were holding her back from her duty. Nico was one of the kindest people in the world - sure he was outwardly untrusting, rude, vengeful and hard to pin down to strangers but after the life he had led who wouldn't be - and these people were preventing her from gaining back her brother and her retribution against the animal who hurt his feelings and made him feel unwanted. She hated the girl with all her soul for that, and a deep protective instinct remained from her time as a wolf which made her bloodthirsty enough to want to eat the girl's heart while she was still alive and screaming for mercy for the disrespect. She wanted to hurt them; to make them feel the humiliation that they gave to her sweet brother and as her anger grew so did her magic as it began to spiral out of control. Huge mounds of gems appearing around her in her anger as Frank tried his best to make her calm down by whispering repeatedly for her to 'breathe in, then breathe out' as the mounds became more and more sharper in their design like spikes of diamonds, gold, and sapphires. 

She vaguely heard Jason ordering a couple of Mars (no Ares) campers to go to where the girl had been taken to put her under 'protective custody' so that Hazel wouldn't be able to get to the girl in her rage before slowly approaching her like a wounded animal which she certainty was not. "Hazel! What happened?" he asked quietly, trying his best to keep her from getting pissed off at his closeness and failing as she swiped at him with a hand to make him get out of her comfort zone. It was bad enough to have one Alpha near her and touching her when it was one she felt connected to - it was another to have this one near her, one who had already been claimed and smelled horrific to her fragile sense of smell.

"... From what I heard and saw, the Richmond girl from Ceres' - sorry Demeter's - cabin voiced a very offensive opinion right in front of Nico and when he fled, whatever was in that bottle was triggered. Lou Ellen thinks its a transformation potion but she's not sure because its missing a few key components like pain suppressors and the mandrake root she mixes with her pig bombs to make it faster on the subject. There's also a nasty amount of stimulants that she couldn't identify at all to get rid of any resistance to the whole thing which I'm pretty worried about as well as trace hallucinogenic. Hazel's been shot full of a blocking tranquiliser to stop the transformation and keep her in a human form but I don't think she likes you near her much. I think she only lets me near her because she inwardly trusts me but I don't think I'll be able to get her contained if she goes off on one so try not to get close! I think we should get her somewhere, quickly, before her humanity comes back and she becomes more upset!" Frank's voice echoed in her mind as she took a breath of his scent to keep herself from trembling in shock, regretting it instantly at the snarl erupting from her mouth at the mention of another girl from Frank's lips which made both of them jump in shock at the sudden noise, but still the breath helped to settle her mind on something other than the overwhelming pain.

Hazel's mind tried instead to focus on other things, like how Frank's voice was like an aphrodisiac to her ears, with its wonderful Canadian influences heard clearly when he tried to pronounce his O's and A's and she felt herself growing more sleepy as she listened to his strong heartbeat behind her. Frank looked at her gently after she voiced her objections to the girl, tucking her closer to his chest to stop her from getting further infuriated, as she took in the scent of damp wood that clung to him like a forest floor after rainfall which was pretty strong as the back of her head was basically under his neck at this point where most of his scent was located. She liked this position though, as the residues of panicked pain began to soften at the tighter grip he placed on her, as her inner wolf felt happy to be contained in this manner with her Alpha right behind her, protecting her from getting harmed by a surprise attack to her flank. His strange scent was coating her as it should do, making her smell half-way between the fire of war and the dampness of the sea - a contradictory but beautiful combination that she never wanted to leave. Her mind started to run with images of him during the battle with Gaia; of him covered in sweat and blood as he tore down the enemy's defences with frighteningly passionate eyes that made her legs grow wet with desire and fury. An image of carnage surrounding them flashed in her mind with blood still damp around them as he held her as tight as he did now but for other more passionate reasons before she realised he would never let her do it because of his gentle nature; still it felt good to dream.

"I agree, she's always been the more emotionally expressive one out of the Hades siblings and we've still got to find her brother before it gets dark. Hopefully Nico will be found soon, but until then we need to make sure that when she does come out of this ... animalistic state - maybe we should have her put in the infirmary private room so that we can keep an eye on her?" Jason's voice was irritating her ears, making Hazel snarl slightly at the way he kept referring to her like she wasn't even there and shouldn't be consulted on just what was happening to her. She hated too, the way that he pointed out a weakness in front of potential enemies like he wanted them to know how to harm her and her pack - threat, her mind stated again, he's a threat to her people and must be eliminated. She felt the change fighting to take over again as the instinct to protect her family and her safety, but the drugs from the dart from before were preventing her from summoning it again. She felt the imprint of a knife sheath on Frank's belt, a weapon she could use to protect her mate and pack perhaps? She let Frank believe she went a little slack as she supposedly relaxed as she palmed it away from him to hide within the confines of the blanket around her, it was a small bladed thing but adequately sharp if used correctly in the way that her claws could do.

"I don't think that would be wise ... too many scents may confuse her too much, and we don't want her more disorientated then she already is!" Frank replied as she nearly scratched his eyes out with her new weapon for his patronising words that let doubt seep into the minds of her prey as to whether she could be an effective member of the pack. For the first time in the confrontation; she actually attacked Frank in order to make him let her go as she blindly swung behind her aiming at his shoulder and ribs as his weak spot with the blunt pommel of the knife while also kicking towards the bandage in his leg to force him to stumble. She needed to find Nico, needed to make him understand that he was safe, and the Camp was home - she didn't need to have Frank on her side to do that if he thought her so weak. She needed to convince her brother that she was his home and he was hers; so they had to be together no matter what everyone else thought or said. That would be what would make her a valued part of her pack, and this Alpha would not stop her in her mission to protect it - even from him.

She watched Jason warily, he was still a bigger man than she and had the muscle and strength she was lacking from her transformation so he would gain an advantage in open combat. She analysed his face as she figured out that her only chance to take him down and get away to protect her brother would be to use psychological or emotional weapons rather than physical ones but she still drew the knife edge and held it defensively in her hand to dissuade him from approaching her. "Hazel, we are not here to harm you! Put down the knife and let us help you, we're all friends here alright?" the son of Jupiter tried to persuade as he took a small step forward towards her, only to jump back when she let loose an elegant swipe of the blade in his direction in warning.

"Friends; right so you've always been my pack's ally? Never doubted our loyalty or insulted us behind our backs? Never treated me like I'm something fragile instead of the Roman I am? Don't lie to me - I can smell the fear and distrust in your words!" she hissed as she stood sideways, using the reflective sheen of the blade to keep one eye behind her on a doubled over Frank while her other eye was on Jason who had backed up a little with a guilty look in his eyes.

"I admit to questioning Nico's loyalties when we first found out about his imprisonment by the giants!" he confessed, causing her to bare her teeth as she took another swipe at the boy that nearly landed a glancing blow had he not jumped back. "But I swear I am not your enemy; I have always supported your commitment to the fifth legion, and I have shown my trust in Nico both at the House of Hades when I drank the poison he offered without complaint and in Croatia when he ... either way I am your ally. I will always be your friend and ally; just put down the blade and let me show you!" he tried as she snarled once again at the hesitation in his voice. Croatia, where Nico went with Jason to find the Diocletian's sceptre and returned ... unnerved by the whole thing. Jason's face wasn't too hard to read, he knew something about Croatia and no doubt the girl from before knew to because Nico never was unnerved by anything but what happened there, and he was going to tell her or she'd break every bone in his body and send him into the abyss that was the rapidly growing main fissure in the ground before them. If she knew about Croatia, then she would have the tools she needed to protect her pack, so she advanced quickly on the Roman with a murderous gaze.

"What happened in Croatia, Jason, tell me or I will skin you alive and make your precious girlfriend watch!" she snarled as she caught sight of a terrified Piper nearby, trying to go unnoticed as she attempted to out-flank her. Jason bristled at the threat but did not speak so she decided a more direct and more physical urgency was needed. Summoning the strength of her inner wolf, she slammed the boy into the wall with a choke hold on his throat and the knife's edge just hovering inches away from his left pupil as he let loose a shocked gasp of surprise. "TELL ME!" she roared, slicing his cheek enraged as little trails of blood trickled down from the wound as he wiggled to get out of the hold she held him in.

"I can't ... Nico ... Nico should tell you ... Not my place to tell!" he spluttered as he attempted to take gasping breaths of air. She felt Frank approaching from her back, Piper approaching from her left and Jason pulling away slightly using his superior strength - boxing her in and making her feel trapped among them all. She hated being trapped; she wanted to run, to chase down her pack and use them to counter these human aggressors so she used a nearby flower pot to knock the Roman unconscious, used the blade to open up a huge open gash on Piper's exposed arm from elbow to shoulder, and finally ducked under Frank's attempt to grab her as she used her teeth the bite down hard on his outstretched flesh with all the power her jaw could give her causing a rather bad bite-mark that left him howling in pain as he stumbled back onto his ass. She would have done more but at that time another dart found its way into her exposed shoulder causing her to hiss out obscenities that would have made her mother blush with the violence of them. A rushing black caught her then, as she passed out in a heap - yet again under the influence of another damn drug.

-

"... Hazel? Can you hear me?" Frank's voice called her out of the fog as she awoke again in absolute pain from a blistering heat within her, making her legs burn with ache and her brow to be slick with sweat as her body battled with the urge to collapse under the strain of being awake. She sniffed the air in fear as she tried to scent out where she was, finding both reassurance and comfort at being back in her own cabin where she could easily defend herself and find familiarity in the scent of her home. The smell of Nico's masculine pine fresh deodorant hit her nose with full force, along with a cocktail of the chocolaty scent of the candies she'd sneaked away from the big house for them to eat last night in mock celebration over his triumphant return from the Ares Cabin where he'd stolen away some pyjamas and effects for them both to salvage because of their lack of possessions and the discarded McDonalds that she'd managed to convince the Stoll twins to get for her and Nico to calm him down one night from his night terrors. Warm feelings of happiness at the good memories flooded her brain as the call for her family grew within her soul once again as it had before, but Frank's added damp sandalwood scent that added a layer of comfort to the mix that made the call less and less urgent.

"Frank?" she murmured as she curled her body towards his position on the bed, pressing her body into his at all the points she could. The cotton fabric of an unfamiliar Camp Jupiter shirt and a loose pair of drawstring sweatpants making the want for human contact annoyingly muted. Her head slowly pulled its way onto his lap as she snuggled close, finding happiness in the gentle touches of cold cloth to her brow and the attention she was getting from her boyfriend, until she noticed the white bandage on his thigh and arm scented with antiseptic and the defined scent of the Apollo kids - a toffee infusion with hints of pine and resin that was surprisingly pleasant despite the clinical after burn of the other chemicals on his skin. "What happened?" she whispered as she ran a finger gently along the white wrappings, find not quite acclimatised to the situation yet and concerned for the safety of Frank as anger bubbled up at whoever hurt him. The wrapping was rough to the touch and Frank slowly lowered the cloth in his hand as he ran a gentle glancing finger down her outstretched hand with a gentleness only he could provide.

"Thank the Gods of Olympus that you're awake. Its pretty bad out there, Haze, Chiron and Reyna are absolutely furious with what happened and well ... Jason and Piper are still in the infirmary under Will's management. Only reason why I was even allowed in here was because I had to use my Praetor role to force them to let me in to care for you because of the fever that Apollo kid Austin gave you from too much Nectar injections to stabilise you. No one's dead though, so at least there's that!" Frank alluded as he held her close while brushing her hair out of her sweaty face making her mind momentarily fritz out as she inwardly cursed at being such a mess in front of him. Hazel tried to remember what had happened, as she purred slightly at the gentle touches - happy to be so close to someone so sweet and kind as Frank was to fight to be at her side when she needed him. She really loved the Roman; the cute way his eyes danced slightly when he got excited in that warlike manner of his father and the respectful way he always showed her in his frequent sparing matches with her where he never took it easy because of her gender or skin colour. Even the annoying way he bopped her nose when she made a snide comment about the bromance between Percy and Jason that left him in doubled over laughter to the point of accidentally turning into a screaming goat to his eternal embarrassment. Hazel brought his hand to her cheek lovingly as she kissed his palm with the gentleness matching his own sweet treatment of her, letting the heat of his palm serve as a lifeline against the fog in her mind as his eyes fluttered at the gesture before pulling herself up on the other arm on the bed so she could properly reward his attentiveness with a chaste kiss to the cheek that made him mumble with shyness.

"My hero!" she murmured in her typical Southern-French accent as she brought his lips to hers in a sweet yet innocent manner that had always been there since the very start of their romantic relationship. His lips were warm and firm as they chased after hers gently, making her melt into his arms as they gathered her to him as tightly as he could with one of his hands on the crook of her neck to stabilise her against him while the hand she'd joined her fingers to wrapped around her waist. The faint taste of his breakfast meal - his favourite poached egg and bacon on toast with a small glass of orange juice that reminded him of what his mother made the last morning he saw her before she went to Afghanistan - made her mouth curl in happiness as she closed her eyes to relish it. She loved the tight hold he had over her body made her feel protected from any danger, making her voice a small disappointed moan as he leaned back enough to rest his forehead against hers. "I love you, Frank Zhang!" she whispered as she took in the look of awe in his eyes at her words, and she meant them completely as she committed to memory the sweet yet short kiss, and the chaste passion he inspired in the brief touch that made her lips tingle in response. Instinctually she pulled him close again before he could respond, wanting to be engulfed again in the bright fire his lips created within her heart as she caressed his neck with utter care and sweetness while her lips moved fervently to show him just how much she adored his company. A soft moan escaped her when Frank ran a curious hand down her back and she tugged at the hair on the lower part of his head to make him groan enthusiastically at the roaring heart flaring within them.

He pulled back slowly, watching with a small smile as Hazel opened her golden eyes to look at him in wonder at the luck she had to find her soulmate so young in life while they both panted hard as they stared into each other's eyes. Frank sighed as he leaned down to bury his face on her neck, placing a soft kiss there and causing her to shiver at the intimacy of the touch pleasantly. "You have no idea how happy you have made me, Hazel, in these blissful few months since we started courting and you have no idea how long I have wished to hear you say those words to me!" he whispered sweetly into her ear before he nuzzled her hair, "because I, Hazel Levesque, love you with everything I have!" he admitted as her cheeks took on a dark reddish hue. No one had ever spoken such passionate and loving words to her before. She shyly looked away from Frank's intense gaze, since his eyes always made her shiver with delight, but Frank would have none of that. With a small nudge of his nose in warning, Frank pulled her onto his lap and held her against him, causing her to squeak slightly at the passionate action, before he crashed his lips to her sweet ones.

Hazel immediately surrendered herself into his warm embrace, the gentleness of his mouth against hers, and she wound her arms around his neck. She couldn't get enough of his soft lips, instinct making her grip him close as she wanted more of this passionate side of her boyfriend turned love of her life. She wanted more, wanted to feel more, as he pressed her soft body closer to him and tangled his fingers through her tangled and messy tresses before he gently pulled her head back so he could deepened the kiss. He groaned when Hazel felt herself accidentally moaning quietly as she tangled her own fingers through his dark hair while his large hand ran down her back, causing shivers to run down her spine as his wonderful mouth continued to delight her. She had never been kissed like this before, she had never felt this wonderful before, and she was enjoying every second of feeling Frank's warm lips and having his strong arms wrapped around her so tightly. Then the warmth began to gather fuel as she felt like a fire was spreading across her skin. She could feel her need for him growing the longer he kissed her and held her soft body against his. The need to rip his clothes off and let him take her right there on the cabin floor was becoming more and more urgent that she was concerned she was going insane.

Reluctantly she let him pull away from her lips again and sighed mournfully when she no longer felt them, but she did not want to frighten him away with her eagerness or make him think she was too wanton in her ways and thus create doubts as to her character. Still the dreamy look plastered itself across her face as she took in small gasps of air to replenish her screaming lungs; "Was the beast captured then?" she asked innocently as she snuggled closer in his embrace.

"Beast?" his voice asked curiously as he started to play with the snarled ends of her hair - making Hazel make a note to find a decent hairdresser sometime soon to make it look a little less messy and to get rid of the split ends she knew were pretty much ruining any hairstyle she'd ever try in the meantime.

"Yeah ... the beast, was it captured? The one that hurt Jason, Piper and you? And me from what I can see, though I don't think I have any injuries on me so maybe that Ambrosia injections Austin used must have done its job ... can't quite remember how I got them though ... was I knocked out or something in the battle?" she asked, slightly dazed by both the kiss and her foggy mind which prevented her from remembering what had happened.

Frank froze quickly making her jolt in fear as she quickly grasped his face in alarm to search for answers to his sudden frigid posture. "You ... you don't remember?" he started hesitantly as he looked deep in her eyes with a now uncomfortable intensity as if he didn't believe her. Why wouldn't he believe her? She loved him, she'd never lie to him or try to mislead him - never had and never would because she knew that truth was the backbone of their relationship now. She tipped her head to the side in confusion as to the cause of his doubt for her, answering his question as she continued to try and pick at her mind to make herself remember what was concerning him so. "... Haze ... you were drugged!" she took a large intake of shocked breath as her heart started to race in fear at what his words meant. "Someone drugged your water bottle, we don't know who, with a bunch of ... really powerful stimulants and a pretty nasty transformation potion that Lou Ellen was absolutely disgusted at because it was specifically designed to hurt you ... made you go crazy for a bit, but we don't blame you!" he quickly reassured as she flinched at what he was saying with disbelieving eyes. "You were completely out of your mind on the stuff, everyone could see that and everyone is really angry that someone would poison you like that!" she scrambled off the bed as the memories started to flood back. The pain of the transformation, the loss of her brother as he fled, the taste of that Ceres girl in her mouth, the screams of onlookers as she fought with Frank, the horror on Jason and Piper's face as she fought them and finally the full force of the day's events literally made her collapse to her knees in shock.

"NO!" she yelled in disbelief as she looked at him in concern that he was going mad. "I would never, EVER, hurt my friends or you. Especially you! I wouldn't ... I would ... I - no, you are mistaken Frank! I ... I ...!" she shuttered against the sobs as she began to break down in tears. "But I ... I couldn't ... I wouldn't ... but what if .. No ... please Gods no .. I hurt ... screaming ... I'm a monster! I hurt ... no ... please say I didn't!" she gasped as she began to feel black spots in her vision and a shiver of cold running down her spine as the room span in freefall. She curled into a ball on instinct, protecting herself from the flashbacks with utter horror as she felt herself drifting in consciousness thanks to the panic attack. Suddenly she hurdled forward as she threw up everything she had in her stomach onto the floor in disgust of her actions and the pain they caused; making her throat feel acidic as her body convulsed in revulsion at what she had done. The mass of sick she'd produced and the shivering cold spreading over her body sent her down a very dark path of inner hatred as she struggled to reconcile herself with the images in her head. "Oh Gods of Olympus, kill me, please kill me! I'm a monster, I hurt my friends! How could I hurt my friends? I should be dead, oh Gods let me be dead!" she screamed out as Frank tried to comfort her despite her now shocked body forcing her to her feet to pace along the floorboards in a tirade of terror. The shock forced her heart rate higher and higher as her mind jumped from one thing to another without coherency, making her start to talk nonsense as her body began to convulse more and more. Finally, she collapsed on the floor in a seizure as her mind drifted between worlds, completely disconnected from the pain of reality blissfully while she faintly heard shouts of alarm around her.

Eventually the drifting stopped as she awoke yet again in the cabin but in a recovery position as strange voices started to invade the void of silence that she had been previously in. " ... she's breathing, Gods that was terrifying! All stats look like they are stabilising but her heart rate is dangerously high so I think we'll need to treat for high blood pressure - a common ailment among people with African decent in high stress situations. No signs of paralysis or stroke so that's good, but she will need rest after this and I'll start looking into diagnosing and treating her as soon as she can get into the infirmary. It's good you called out to us Frank, could have been a lot worse!" the female voice stated as Hazel began to rouse herself up from the prone position she was in on the floor. Someone had placed a rather comfortable pillow - Nico's she guessed from the scent - under her head and had laid her down on her side in a position that made her both comfortable and relaxed which she was immensely grateful for.

"... Fr ... Fra ... Frank?" she mumbled as she attempted to clear the drowsy feeling yet again from her mind. Warm arms embraced her with utter gentleness as she let loose a quiet cry of relief at the warmth it provided her still trembling body. Safety, warmth and happiness flooded her system as she laid her head down on his chest to steady herself against the vertigo of getting up. " ... hungry ... when ... when's dinner?" she mumbled as her stomach rumbled in time with his chest as a deep belly laugh erupted from him.

"Oh Gods, Hazel, you scared the living daylights out of me! Thought you were going to ... going to ... food is on the side, Kayla was bring it to us when she heard me ... heard me ... um, we've got a range of sandwiches and juice if you're up to it?" He stuttered as his hand caressed her hair to reassure himself that she was alive and alright. Hazel smiled at the now obvious scent of ham and cheese as the food was placed within her eye line. Without hesitating her hand darted out as she quickly stuffed her mouth with the bread, tearing it quickly apart with her hands as she consumed it without even a hint of manners or politeness. She ate like a wild animal, barely even chewing as she swallowed down sandwich after sandwich before practically downing a whole pitcher of juice by herself within the course of a few minutes without even having the manners to pour it into the accompanying glass. Her body screamed for oxygen but the need to eat was too powerful to ignore as she finished the platter without delay. Finally feeling full she managed to take a small breath as she snuggled back into Frank's now trembling embrace as he and a mystery girl were in the midst of absolute hysterical laughter at the action. "Hungry much?" he asked her before kissing her head gently and wrapping his arms around her body. She loved his hugs, so warm and cuddly like a giant bear ... Nico's hugs were good but he was such a skinny thing that it felt like a scarecrow was trying to hold her instead of her big bear of a boyfriend but still they were pretty special because her brother only ever let her hug him and no one else - well, apart from Reyna of course.

"Nico!" she murmured as she felt herself drifting off a bit. The thought of her brother jolted her body as she sprung upright, looking desperately around for him as she scanned the room for his presence. The smell of bleach hit her nose from where someone had mopped up the sick from before and the new girl's quite potent floral deodorant was pretty sickening but no Nico. "Where's my brother? Tell me where is my brother? Did something happen? Where's my brother?" she babbled as her heart rate sprang right back up. She began to panic again as she practically nearly broke her neck as she turned quickly to look in the bathroom en-suite to find the missing member of her family. Frank tried to calm her down yet again but she couldn't stop the trembles from taking over again. "Where the fuck is my brother?" she swore loudly as her anger increased in size, making her want to tear the occupants of the room apart as she looked for a weapon to force the location of her brother out of them.

"Hazel! Hazel! Your brother is safe, I swear it, he's coming back soon but in the meantime you need to calm the hell down or you'll trigger another fit! You need to stay here and wait for him, he won't be long now!" Kayla tried to persuade but this only made her growl in hatred at not being with her sibling and for her attempts to order her around. She had enough with being ordered around today, of being stuck with needles today, of having to deal with stupid humans today. She felt her bones popping again as the drugs to prevent her change were shortly wearing off and the potion of transformation earlier was triggering her initial stages of the change, along with the faint movement of the rocks under her feet and the mist around her that would be useful weapons in getting past this girl to find her brother.

"Hazel, please calm down! Please!" Frank pleaded as she considered what they were trying to get her to do. She didn't want to wait in the dark, she wanted to run, to scream, to cry and plead for Nico to show himself so nothing Frank could say could repair the betrayal she felt when Frank moved to block the door and her only exit from her. She surged forward, driven by instinctual sibling love, as she tried to get past him but he just kept holding her back as Kayla stepped out of the open door to avoid being hurt. "Stay here and calm down!" he ordered, and that was the last straw.

"You bastard! Let me out! I want my brother, I want Nico, now get out of my fucking way!" she cursed before falling back into old routines as she tried to punch him out so she could escape the prison that was cabin thirteen. Frank was obviously holding himself back, counting to force the frustration out of him so he wouldn't get angry at his girlfriend, but boy was she pissed off at him. Half out of her mind with; she started to scratch, bite and claw her way to get him to let her go as he made her stay in the cabin by force - taking each of her blows with quiet pained stares that Hazel's heart roared at in hatred and more than a little bit of desire at seeing her imprinting teeth and finger nails on his skin.

She started pacing again, walking back and forth like a chained lion as she stared at Frank in fury and bitterness for standing guard over her instead of bending her over the bed to relieve her aching body of its newfound desire as the wolf inside reared its head again to make her want him but even this urge was at odds with her desire for her brother's safety. She snarled when he actually tried to appease her with sweet words instead of lustful and obedient ones, biting him when he tried to embrace her both in rage and jealousy that he was able to go home after to his siblings but she wasn't allowed to do so for hers. In all, she did everything she could to get him to get out of her way so she could protect Nico from himself as well as get Frank to blow his lid and give over to the aggressive lust she had been feeling. If she was calmer, if it wasn't Nico, if it wasn't for that last haunted look she remembered on her dear brother's face then she might feel guilt for the hurt look on her boyfriend's face, but he could go to the underworld right now for denying what was her rightful place as Nico's sibling to find, protect, and bring her brother home. She began to mutter to herself, going slightly mad in the silence of Cabin 13 and the claustrophobic air that enveloped her, and it took everything in Hazel not to scream loudly at the top of her lungs at the injustice of it.

What did he know of the sufferings of her beloved brother, Hazel started cursed loudly in front of Frank as her love and desire for the boy waned off in her anger and fear she had for both the safety of her brother and the paranoid thought of him not loving her enough to relieve her suffering. She began to snarl then, as doubts flooded her and paranoia invaded every pore of her body. What urged Frank to confine her like a prisoner instead of letting her rip those spoilt girls apart for harming her brother's self-confidence before pushing against a wall to relieve the ache between her legs? And what secret did Jason know earlier that he wouldn't tell Nico's own sister? Was she even Nico's sister if she couldn't get past one man like Frank? As if she really deserved that title now that she looked back on it; looked back on all the warning signs that spoke as to how badly Nico was recovering from the War. The way he looked so tired of everything, the way his hands buried themselves into his sides when near people he didn't like nor know, the way his eyes were dark with a lack of sleep and worse of all how skinny her big brother looked. Hazel had never seen him eat much, since before then Nico didn't really like to eat in the Pavilion because of the overcrowding and his stay in the infirmary, but today was supposed to be different. They were supposed to get closer and yet did Hazel really deserve to know her big brother after she had been neglecting him all this time, so she could help stupid Jason and the stupid Romans after the stupid War with stupid Gaia.

Gods, she was the worse sister in the world.

Dear father if you're listening, Hazel prayed in desperation, I need your help. I know I'm not supposed to talk to you, because of the whole death thing, but Nico's gone and I'm scared. Please, please, help us! I know you are very busy with the underworld and everything but if you could just tell me where Nico is and then I could find him and ... and ... Hazel closed her eyes as tears began to form again. What was the use? She had no one to blame for this but herself, for she had not been there for her big brother when he needed it most after all the times he was there for her. She would most likely just make everything worse, stupid girl, because Hazel knew she didn't deserve the boy who'd given her everything and received nothing in return. She started to whimper as tears broke her resolve, making her wrap her shaking hands around herself as she bit her lip to keep the mournful wails from erupting in her throat at the loneliness that bubbled up inside her. Somehow being away from her brother, her flesh and blood, was more painful and lonely than decades of standing still in the Fields of Asphodel clinging to the memory of her dead mother as the dead around her stood as silent as a crypt.

Hazel shut her eyes tight to prevent herself from thinking too hard of that time and instead took a deeper breath as she started around the room to find something to occupy her body while her mind tried to think of a way to escape. Relying on her mother's domestic training and her schooling in Home Economics (a class in school she always got high marks in); she began to let instinct take over as she buried herself in cleaning up the Cabin which both soothed her inner wolf's need to tidy her den and brought a sort of silent tranquillity she could only find when her hands and mind were busy. She looked around to figure out what needed doing first as she spotted the little mess beside her bed that would serve her need to control a little of the chaos in her life well. Hazel quickly knelt as she began to create order from chaos while smoothing out the multi-coloured pile of sweet wrappers so they could be colour coded and put away as a reminder of the good times with her sibling. Not to mention they made beautiful colours when the sunlight shone through them, making her hope to use them to perhaps create something new out of them like a rainbow lantern or some flowers that Nico could finally touch without wilting them. Then came the MacDonald's wrappers that were quickly binned, with Hazel taking the keepsake of her happy meal toy (a black dragon from a movie that had came out recently that Nico adored) which she placed alongside the stack of wrappers solemnly inside her bedside cabinet. After that she utilised an old dustpan and brush to sweep away the dust beneath the bed on the marble floor, before treating a minor stain in the stone floor from some ketchup that had accidentally dripped with a plastic dinner bowl full of hot soapy water. She felt Frank eyes on her from his place guarding the front door but thanks to the bed's placement it concealed her own face as she scoped out how to get out of this situation while scrubbing vigorously at the floor. Moments went by and Hazel bit her lip to silence the hiccupping sobs still radiating out of her throat at not being near her brother, finally ending when the stain rubbed away and the floor was once again clean. As if she was moving to her feet again, Hazel noted several creases in the bedcovers that irritated the living Hades out of her as the thought of Nico obsessively smoothing down the itchy covers that morning came to her. He would not be pleased to see the tiny creases thanks to his military school training so she quickly remade it to his precise instructions, hoping that he wouldn't notice when he finally returned.

Most likely he would though ... Nico was sweetly strange in that way.

As she returned the now dirty water to a spot near the bathroom door as well as the dustpan and brush; Hazel's eyes caught the small pile of Pyjamas from the Ares Cabin that Nico had stolen in order to have something comfortable to sleep in. Her hands softly traced the edges while taking in the minty scent of her brother's deodorant once again to calm her mind a little. Everything they owned was either stolen, rubbish or destroyed beyond compare - but what could they do when neither of them had the money to go to the Camp Store to buy new things? Nico wasn't proud of stealing, in fact he despised it, but desperation to help them had made the crime permissible and to be honest so did she but what else could they do? "Those are from our Cabin!" a soft voice from behind her started, Frank again, as she whirled around to glare at him for interrupting her spiral of depression. "Why are you stealing things Haze?" he tried as he made the motion to try and take them from her, making her snarl in response as she held them closer possessively.

"Why the fuck do you think, dickhead?" she spat, trying her best not to flinch as he drew forward at being crowded while pulling the clothes to her body in a tight hold to prevent him from taking them back. She moved as far back as she could with her heckles raised up high so he would think her bigger than what she was. The possessive need not to lose one of their meagre possessions dominated her mind as she spotted Kayla daring to venture back into the Cabin apprehensively at the sudden raised voice. The child of Apollo was small, but still the idea of two against one was not something her mind could stomach - at least now if she kept talking she could make a run for it, causing her to stealthily use her other hand to feel behind her for her brother's spare knife on his bedside for a better defence but of course he'd taken it that morning for extra protection so she grasped at nothing.

Frank paused, eyes wide as he suddenly looked around at their cabin for first time it seemed - a judging shine in his eyes that pissed her off was still there when he spoke again; "You could just ask for some from the Camp Store! I know the Stolls are good enough to ...!" Hazel hated hearing the accusation, the inherent pity in his voice that made her body quake in anger at his tone which cut straight through her and injured her pride. To some, the fact that their cabin was barely even possessing most of the inherent things needed for ordinary life was sad but to her it was a triumph because at least they had something. Hazel's mind flashed to the small mentions of her brothers time homeless after his blood sister Bianca had passed on, of the look of cold reluctance at mentioning how desperate things got and how terrifyingly poverty stricken he had been in those first few weeks before he'd learned that stealing for necessity was better than starving alone in the gutters. Hazel remembered her own childhood where her moma had to often go hungry in order to feed her bastard daughter and keep a roof over their heads, how bad it got to one winter to the point of eating rats to survive and stealing little pieces of firewood to keep the fire going in their little home. Her family was at least lucky enough to have a home and now she had a big one to share with her big brother; who cares what they had to do in order to live - at least they had each other.

"We don't need your fucking charity!" she spat angrily, infuriated that he didn't understand that a family was worth not having much because at least Nico had her and she had him. She didn't hate charity, not the physical act at least but she had been raised in a time where a person had to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and work for what they wanted - taking handouts was a sign of weakness to her and she was not willing to destroy her pride for a comfortable set of Pyjamas at this point. She had Nico, why want for more? "Nor do I care what you think, we can do fine on our own as we always do!" she followed pushing him back with the flats of her palm as she manoeuvred her way away from her brother's bunk so to have a little space from his attitude and judgement.

"I wasn't saying it like that ..." Frank backtracked quickly as he stupidly held up his hands in a way he must have thought would calm her. Who was he really kidding?

"What patronisingly as if you were some damned hero for taking care of a couple of outcasts? We know what we have, and its a lot more than you do - so excuse us, oh sainted protector for valuing family more than things we can easily get ourselves without your unwanted help. I think I'd rather die than accept charity from a self-involved do-gooder, at least then I would have my pride rather than being looked down on by someone who's never had to steal in his life!" she growled accusingly, back stepping over towards the door as Frank let out an angry growl at the implication for no real reason. Frank had a normal childhood with his mother, Frank had a home and a roof to sleep under, Frank didn't know true hunger or having to survive by any means necessary - what could he know of their lives?

"For Olympus sake Hazel, I'm not trying to insult you or Nico - I know you both have had bad lives and I'm just trying to say that its not patronising to be kind!" Frank roared back, anger taking over from his sweet demeanour as his immortal father's more mercurial tendencies slipped out, startling the healer behind him. Finally he was allowing that façade to come down so the real beast could emerge as it so wanted to - maybe now she could get him so worked up that he wouldn't notice her small moves to get closer to the exit. She always knew being a son of Ares or Mars if you like meant you were more susceptible to fury than most but damn it Frank never let it loose. It was a cause of ire within her to never get to see the true man behind her ... ex? Boyfriend's exterior but at least now she could say he was showing his true colours at last.

"Yes it fucking is, you motherfucking dumb ass! The second you let a person patronise you like that is the moment you lose any standing in the world that you have, you would have to be so freaking idiotic not to know that! Neither I nor my brother want nor need your sort of pathetic kindness nor do I care to be looked at like that. We are children of Hades - we do what we have to and we don't ask for help to do it! We are the survivors, the ones who work with what we got and I don't fucking need no pity handouts to be happy. I don't need your help, how many times do I have to say it? I don't need help as a girl, I don't need help as a black girl, I don't need help as a black, poor, girl - so back the fucking hell off! I never asked for any preferential treatment, I never asked to be caged in this motherfucking prison, I never asked for you to publically shame me by dragging me off, and I never asked for you to intervene earlier - I. Don't. Need. You. To. Save. Me!" she shouted as he turned a particularly scarlet level of red in shame which satisfied her immensely. He was crying, Hazel could see that, and his hands were shaking while Kayla was looking more than a little bit scared at the outburst of emotion but she didn't give a flying fuck at that moment. She could feel tears trickling down her cheeks and her nose felt stuffy as she grabbed a small hankie off the side of her bunk to blow her nose before tucking it into her sweatpants' pocket. A thought occurred to her then. "Who dressed me?" she asked quietly, in shock as a crimson blush overtook her dark skin as a fury of embarrassment flooded her mind.

Frank looked thunderstruck at the change of tone while Kayla simply took a hesitant step forward as she slowly opened her quaintly tiny mouth, "I ... I did - Reyna ordered for a spare set of clothes from the Roman encampment to be brought while you were out!" she stated calmly though she had a slight tremor in her wording as she fidgeted under Hazel's weighted stare. Hazel felt herself seize up in shame as she considered the immediate dangers of the girl's words, terrified beyond all else about what they would mean.

"Would you be able to testify that you were alone when this happened and that no ... men were present at the time?" she asked quietly but with an edge of nervous fear as she twisted her hands in absolute anxiety based terror. Hazel felt her mind go back to her childhood again as she remembered the looks of disgust and words of abuse her own mother endured as an unmarried mother - heaven knows how many times the pastor of the local New Orleans Church verbally directed his forceful sermons at her supposed wanton behaviour and status as the local harlot for it. Hazel didn't know how her mother didn't crack under the streams of unrelenting judgement and believed fully that she could never survive it if she was given the same treatment.

A look of confusion overtook the daughter of Apollo as she stared in amazement at the question; "Only Reyna was in the room at that point, why?"

Hazel looked her dead in the eye as utter relief filled her mind at having another woman testify for her; "It is bad enough as a negress to walk outside in public without a chaperone - to have public knowledge of my ... improper state in a room where a male was present would be a point of absolute shame and danger to my person. I may be a Mulatto but even I know that a girl with that sort of reputation or gossip around her - especially a black one - will be publically degraded as a harlot who'd open her legs for a few pennies and thus in danger of attack or lynching for her ways. I thought that was obvious? Now, this has been fun and all but I'd really like to go find Nico - so bye!" Hazel blurted as she took a running leap towards the door, uncomfortable with how they were both staring at her like she was speaking another language. The movement hurt her legs but she needed to get out, needed to flee their patronising and insulting staring, so she could protect her family - which made it so much more frustrating when Frank swung her around just as she reached the door by her waist, making her gasp at the violence of it as he nearly gave her whiplash.

"Hazel, I will not say it again! Stay in Cabin thirteen and calm the hell down - you are going to bring on another seizure if you act like that - now explain how the hell you got that idea into your head. No one thinks you are a harlot for getting drugged and undergoing the trauma of the last few hours - that I give my word on - and Nico is absolutely fine and will return soon, everything is fine, just calm down!" Frank tried to control his rage as it was obvious at that point he was losing patience with her but she just snarled as she fought her way out of his intimate embrace so she could face him head on. The statement that her brother was fine and coming back to her should have made her happy but all she felt was a void inside of her that wouldn't fill until she found her brother and had him safely where she would protect him from everything in the world. But Nico was not there, so how could she feel anything but anger in the meantime as her own opinion on what she wanted was surely not to be acknowledged.

Hazel let loose a terrifying growl in a much more higher volume as the arrogant fool actually tried to approach her again, making her finally snap as she slapped him so hard the boy fell to the ground in shock and pain. She stalked towards him on the floor as she spoke venomously; "Do you not understand that my brother is in pain right now? That those monsters hurt him and that you are stopping me from protecting the only family I have left. You and your fellow campers are disgusting for what you have done to him, for what you have done to me and mine! Your kind have poisoned me, made me endure unimaginable agony, jeered at me, insulted me, insulted my brother, knocked me out, embarrassed me in front of my enemies and prevented me from being there to comfort the only person in the world who has never harmed me. You think you have any fucking right to keep me here against my will in a cage where I can neither help nor comfort my own flesh and blood because in someway you think you have the motherfucking right to dictate my life because we are dating? I am older than you, Frank Zhang, and I have been through more than anyone ever should so don't ever think you can patronise or demean or order me around just because you are bigger than me. I will never forgive you or any of you for this! As soon as my brother returns, we are leaving this shithole and I will never come back!"

The look of hurt on his face was massive but he had earned it for not sticking by Hazel's side and for thinking he could dictate her actions to Jason earlier. Betrayer, traitor, ass ... the list of names she called him after he limped off to lick his wounds with a shocked Kayla trailing after him grew larger every second her brother wasn't in her arms. The girl actually tried to get Hazel to submit to going to the infirmary for more tests but was quickly shut up by a plastic bedside table thrown her way, forcing her to turn tail and run for it. She knew then that any hope of reconciliation with the man who'd she loved was now gone from her; but if it was a choice between Frank and Nico - she would always, always, choose her brother because he would always choose her. Tears grew in the corner of her eyes but she held her head high as she had when he left her with a broken walk when he realised her utter disgust for his touch that spoke volumes on how ashamed he was of his actions. Good; then he would learn to never mess with Hazel Levesque and to never break the sibling bond between her and her brother. If he ever was in the same room as her again; Hazel was sure he'd treat her with more caution than before and for some reason that made her smile against the tears and heartbreak. Better to be respected than loved; that was the line wasn't it?

Hazel's stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot as she desperately scanned yet again the horizon of the Camp; desperately hoping for a mere glimpse of her brother's unkempt yet sweetly adorable nest of hair to quell the fear that was quickly consuming her. She nervously paced back and forth, wearing down the wood at the doorstep of Cabin 13, with every moment of guilt and fear pulling at her to run into the woods shouting Nico's name despite the danger of a monster attack. After Frank left with Kayla, she hurried to right the cabin as she eliminated all signs that the day's events ever happened so as not to concern her brother when he arrived back into their place of safety. She wanted her big brother, the brave and valiant knight who'd been there for her ever since her resurrection. Who'd never judged her; never made her feel guilty or ashamed for any mistakes she had made in the past. Who'd, despite being completely opposed to physical touch, fought against himself to kiss her forehead and whisper how it was going to be all right - that she was safe, and he would protect her against the monsters in her head and on the battlefield. Who'd always somehow sneaked portions off his plate and onto hers despite looking as skinny as a stick himself. Who made her laugh when he introduced her to this magic trick he learned in Atlanta with a coin that he'd made come literally out of her ears and to this day Hazel couldn't figure out how he did it. Who'd escort her towards the bathroom and public areas when she got frightened about using a typically 'white' area and feared being lynched for trespassing. Who'd spoken so kindly to her when she broke down crying after the shock and adrenalin of the War had finally worn off on the floor of their shared cabin. Who'd accepted her for herself without looking at the colour of her skin or any of her faults because to him, he'd said, they were only part of the story of Hazel Levesque. Her brave and strong big brother; who withstood so much abuse and hardship to the point of fleeing in agony because of that bitch from before, and Hazel knew his suffering was all her fault because she was too weak to destroy their enemies and go after him out of sentiment.

A small glow shimmered in the distance which caught her eye ... Was that fireflies? Hazel loved fireflies, their warm and comforting glow reminded her of home in New Orleans and how they always gathered outside the windows of the apartment like a cloud of stars to dance and play in the night-time breeze. Then she saw him; Nico, emerging from the dark with a woman holding onto him like a mother would as she gently helped him towards the cabin. Hazel rushed out of the cabin like she was on fire and Nico quickly noticed her as she threw herself into her top speed to reach him. A moment of hesitation stopped her in her tracks as she silently asked for permission to touch her brother but with a small nod of consent; Hazel launched herself into his ready embrace.

Hazel loved hugs, loved the warmth and the comfort they brought against the cold reality of the world. But this wasn't a small friendly hug or a hug from someone as a form of curtesy - no this was a pick-me-up-off-my-feet, spin me around, hold me close, and stay with me forever because I never want to part from you again hugs. Hazel quickly broke apart slightly as she scanned him for injuries, for any hint of pain or hurt, before slamming herself close again with a "Never do that to me again!" as she snuggled her head into his chest. Her big brother wrapped his hands around her so tight it was hard to breathe but Hazel didn't care if she died and went to the underworld at that point because all she wanted was to comfort and keep her brother safe for the rest of his life.

Slowly she drew back as she remembered the woman; a pretty teenager with kind chocolate eyes that seemed eternally despondent despite obvious attempts to hide it. Her dark skin like Hazel's like fresh turned earth and her scent was as sweet as a bakery of treats with wafts of cinnamon, honey and fresh turned bread radiating off her and placing Hazel in an almost dreamlike trance. Surely if this girl and Aphrodite were in the same room together, Gods help Hazel decide who was more beautiful because although Aphrodite was stunning to look at - this girl had a naturally occurring beauty that came through her small smiles and warmth of character rather than just her good looks. Hazel noted her clothes were pristine in their condition, but rather than being just aesthetically pleasing, they rather had a more simple and purposeful way about them to endear Hazel or lookers on. A mass of long black hair was perfectly braided into an upside down crown that was slightly hidden under the crochet hat but still elegantly natural enough to draw the eye. Everything screamed comfort, mother, sweet, nature and kindness about her. Instantly; Hazel knew she had found a friend who'd always be welcome in her mind because she had returned her big brother to her.

"Hello, Hazel Levesque, it has been a long time!" the woman spoke in a beautiful accent that reminded Hazel of a courtly English lady with her sweet deliverance of words in a poetic manner befitting a period drama. There was an inner dignity to it, a strength and independence that bended knees and brought proud men low, but also a sweetness and innocence that Hazel wanted to wrap herself in. It was like her voice was an exquisite rose lightly wet with the tears of those who tried to pluck it but wept at causing it pain with a thousand thorns protecting its fragile petals from destruction. Who was she, and why did Hazel's head hurt when she looked at her?

An image resonated through Hazel's mind of her trial when she chose the fields of Asphodel to save the soul of her mama; of a lady wrapped in the softest looking silks standing hidden in the shadows as she made that fateful decision. The woman was so beautiful, but her mouth was passive and her eyes cold and dispassionate as she looked upon the proceedings without interest. Hazel remembered her desperate wish at that moment for the woman's name and identity, but she kept silent as the lady turned around with impossible grace as she left Hazel behind in a cloud of questions and tear soaked decisions. "You were there, at my Trial in the Underworld, I remember seeing you there!" she spoke as her mind rattled with questions and her body clung closer to her brother if the woman posed a threat.

"Yes, as Queen, I attend all Trials of Judgements for my ... husband's children, so I can be assured of their fairness and to spare my husband from appearing himself to see his child when they have reached their inevitable end. Your end and judgment was a short one, an honourable sacrifice I salute to as a daughter myself, and your ... father was proud to hear your self-sacrifice did honour and credit to his name though he was concerned at your decision to wither away rather than share in the delights of Elysium for a woman who'd shown only greed and cowardice instead of protecting her child as was her sacred duty. I do not speak ill of the dead, surely she was a proud woman in her life, but she did act without considering her child and that is not excusable!" Hazel almost started cursing again before she took in the impact of the woman's words. For so long she had tried to defend her mother's actions as a result of Pluto not being there for her mother or other people's shunning of her out of misplaced bigotry, but the truth was that Marie Levesque was human. She made mistakes as all humans do; she asked for riches because as a black woman living in the South in the 1930s who performed unorthodox religious practices - she wasn't going to get enough money to pay for an illegitimate child on her own and that was understandable.

However; Hazel considered the fact that despite being in the right of being outraged - Marie Levesque never really understood that it was her own doing which caused Hazel to be cursed because she ignored Hade's warning and didn't word her request correctly. She took Hazel away from her father, away from Sammy, away from her home and made her live in practical isolation until her death. Therefore; Hazel now began to understand that she still made the decisions to help Gaea and thus doomed herself until she realised her mistake at the last possible moment. Hazel spoke back at last therefore; "She did what she could, but I agree my mother was prideful and committed a terrible thing to help Gaea, so I take little offense to it. I take it you are Prosepine - Persephone sorry - and the wife of my father?" 

"Yes; I am Persephone; Goddess of Springtime, Flowers, Young Life, Renewal and the Balance of Nature. Queen of the Underworld, protector of the Dead and consort to Lord Hades, your divine father, now can you help me get Nico here into the Cabin before he collapses from exhaustion because he's looking very peaky and I'm fairly sure its past your bedtime!" She spoke sweetly as she helped a dumbstruck Hazel lift the slightly dazed Nico towards the cabin by wrapping an arm under both of his armpits. Hazel noted how light Nico was, a dangerous sign if ever there was one that Hazel could probably fireman's lift him with almost no effort required. She needed to help him get better - and at least now there would be no Frank to distract her from healing her brother's obvious distress. She planned the next few steps to make him eat more in her head - maybe she could convince him to help her learn cooking, or try new exotic dishes or maybe even have him introduce her to Italian cuisine while he got introduced to Caribbean/French food that her mother liked to feed her when she was younger. Hazel's mind drifted then to the way that Persephone's eyes seemed to flood in despair at the very mention of her husband and Hazel's father; was this why she was here? Was she having an argument with her husband and happened to come across Nico by accident? It seemed plausible given the obvious sadness and misery mentioning him did to her face and Hazel was struck with the desire to hug her until she reminded herself that it wasn't exactly the best idea considering they did not know each other.

Eventually they got him standing up inside the cabin and Hazel noticed a small girl tending to the fireplace nearby that she hadn't noticed before - Hestia? Before Hazel could even get a word of greeting to the other Goddess; Persephone beat her to it. "Thanks Tia; I owe you one!" Persephone spoke low, conscious of the fact that Nico was practically falling over himself with exhaustion. The girl looked over to Persephone with a small smile of thanks for the acknowledgement before her face fell as she picked up on the grim atmosphere surrounding the three of them. She looked most concerned at Persephone herself; like she could tell something was wrong but a quick shake of Persephone's head signalled to make sure the other Goddess wouldn't start asking questions at that moment. Hazel was thankful for the lack of questions at that point because she was slightly panicking over the fact that the Goddess was very close to see the reality of their living arrangements in their less than ideal predicament in night clothes. She knew that Nico's pyjamas weren't exactly in the best condition since he was forced to steal them from the Ares Cabin; was it polite for a Goddess to see a boy of Nico's age in really ill-fitting spacemen pyjamas that had to be held up thanks to the general weight and height of the last possessor being immensely different from her slight and slim brother. They laughed about it at the time but it would be a little mortifying if in his sleep derived state Nico accidentally dropped his trousers in front of a Maiden goddess and their stepmother. Said pyjamas were on the edge of Nico's vampire crypt like bed and as soon as Persephone saw them Hazel was sure she nearly burst out laughing.

"By the Gods, why didn't you say that you needed clothes this badly! That does it; tomorrow when we shop for some new clothes - I am so going overboard! I mean I can stand a lot of things in life but damn I am not going to tolerate any family members of mine doing without adequate pyjamas!" Persephone ranted to herself before snapping her fingers to summon out of nothingness a small pile of what looked like plain white long-sleeved cotton pyjamas, some socks, a toothbrush and a few other hygienic products which she held loosely in her hand. "These should do for the meantime; thanks be to me for thinking of having an emergency supply of everything within Camp Boarders in case dear old dad turns me mortal one of these days. Gender neutral style, shouldn't be too baggy, and there's plenty of supplies there to deal with that slight bad breath problem from not brushing your teeth as much as you should - and yes I caught that Mr! Now go get changed for bed, no arguments! We'll be right outside if you need anything!" she called as she practically pushed the now startled awake Nico into the private bathroom with a small tsk of amusement.

Hazel was similarly startled; Nico was going where tomorrow? "Lady Persephone ...!" she started, trying to come up with a way of working on that question without seeming overly rude as well as point out that they didn't need her charity so she didn't need to buy them anything but the Goddess beat her to the punch. Good thing too as Hazel was fairly sure that she wouldn't want for a bastard daughter of her husband's Roman counterpart to rebut a gift - who knows how she would punish them for the insult. So she resolved in her head quickly to ensure that the Goddess wouldn't go too 'overboard' as she put it and to see if she could limit the price of such gifts as best she could to decrease the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

"No need for that; manners are all well and good but I'm fairly sure Nico's not going to be in there forever, so we have limited time to waste. Tell me what you can of today, leave nothing out, and I'll dedicate myself to making sure that your brother smiles again!" Persephone smiled again but it was more with reassured concern that instantly endeared her to the girl. Hazel immediately recounted the whole thing as best as she could, taking care not to say much about her attacks on Jason and Frank in case Persephone thought she was a lunatic. The frown on Persephone's face worsened and Hazel watched curiously as the woman brought out a small journal which she opened up and began to write down something that Hazel couldn't quite make out. There was a lot of scribbles on it though, maybe a schedule or something like that, but the way she was writing it made it look something like a mass of ideas like that of a mad genius. She did say that she was 'dedicating' herself to making sure Nico 'smiles' so it was probably a mass of ideas on how to achieve that - an ingenious thing that Hazel really hated herself for nothing thinking of earlier - along with information on events that caused Nico to turn in on himself and retreat from people. 

"Well; that would explain how distraught he looked when I found him!" Persephone sighed sadly as she shut the book with a pronounced snap. Hazel hadn't realised until the sound jolted her that she was drifting ever closer to the woman with the subconscious intent on trying to read over her shoulder. "Hazel are you doing anything tomorrow?" she asked with a ring of concern.

"No madam!" Hazel replied back quickly as she shrank back guiltily for attempting to invade her brother's privacy.

"Persephone, please, none of that madam nonsense since we're family. Now; I'd like to take your brother on a trip tomorrow to Brooklyn after breakfast to see some Celtic friends of mine and I'd like you to come along for both moral support and so I can spoil my stepchildren a little after the torrid events of the last couple of years. Are you able to come with us?" Hazel shifted on her spot; considering the words and trying her best not to panic as she realised she'd have to come clean about what she had done to her supposed 'friends'. Sure, she may of hated them at that moment for splitting her from her brother when he needed her most but now that she thought back it was a little aggressive of her to physically start attacking people she had once thought loved. She had attacked the leader of the Roman Army, his girlfriend, a daughter of Ceres, and her boyfriend along with Will's sister; so there had to be consequences for it surely?

"I ... I ... I would like to come along but I'm afraid ... I may not be able ... well; I kind of ... maybe ... got poisoned with a magic potion that turned me into a wolf, nearly bit the leg off the girl who was teasing Nico, nearly killed my ... nearly killed Praetor Frank Zhang, returned to human form, threatened Jason Grace with a knife, knocked him unconscious with a vase, badly cut Piper Mclean, attacked Frank Zhang again, got knocked out, woke up here, and finally attacked Frank and Apollo's daughter Kayla with a bedside table. So I might have to stand trial for attempted murder, thievery, assault, threatening a superior, and vandalism tomorrow so ...!" even the words seemed hollow as Hazel struggled to keep herself together as she considered what the punishment she might have to endure because there was no way she was getting away Scott free. Why had she gone so overboard? Hazel looked at herself honestly and reminded herself of her situation. She was fourteen years old, a War survivor, who had already died, been subjected to culture shock, watched/caused her mother to die horrifically, been stuck in limbo for who knows how many years, drugged by a traumatising potion that turned her into an animal and was so close to losing her other remaining family member who was basically wasting away because of his severe mental and physical trauma. She was entitled to get a little protective over him, in fact she had more than earned the right to protect her brother and those who stood in her way were not like to do it again. Her actions had shown that at least even though her trial would most likely go against her; trials against people like her often did after all.

"You were under the influence, a minor, and protecting the liberty and safety of a loved one. I'm sure Chiron will understand one small trip is easier to bear if you are supervised than a displeased Goddess; what were the circumstances of these attacks?" Hazel looked at her and Hestia, who at this point was quietly in-braiding Persephone's hair with nimble and intimate care, while watching them with those warm brown eyes that swirled slightly and crackled like the flames she sat near. Despite the obvious staring; Hazel didn't feel unease rather she felt warm and comforted to have female friends who she could depend on for advice and support. Annabeth and Piper were nice but talking to them was difficult to near impossible if it was about her wellbeing because there was always a risk they would reveal it to their respective boyfriends and thus she could never have a firm sense of privacy with them - not to mention Piper was currently having her arm stitched back together thanks to her knife work so that friendship was over.

"Jason ... he wouldn't let me punish the girl who upset my brother and wouldn't tell me some information that would have explained why he reacted so badly to it so I hit him in anger ... then there's Frank who stopped me from getting my revenge on the girl who hurt my brother and then imprisoned me in this cabin to cool down after Lou Ellen drugged me yet again with a sleeping dart. A few major injuries; possible amputation of the girl's arm from the depth of the wound I left on her, a possible laming from the bite on Frank's leg, a concussion from the Vase on Jason's head, a really large cut down Piper's arm because she tried to out-flank me, some scratches, some bite marks and a few other injuries ... I just got so angry that I couldn't help it ... my powers just started to act up and the wolf just ... because they made me so ... so pissed off!" she recounted in the quietest voice she could so Nico wouldn't hear from the bathroom. She would never hear the end of it if he found out; most likely he would blame himself and then go into a self-loathing tangent. Nope, he might just go off the deep end ranting at Frank about ordering around his sister before personally going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against whom ever poisoned her in the first place. No, she was going to have to protect him by keeping it quiet for now until he was better and then she would tell him so they could get revenge together without fear of him being too traumatised to help.

"I can twist a version of events that to get you off with a couple of minor punishments; in fact I am about to enter the room where they are all taking Council ... wow, you weren't kidding about defacing Frank Zhang! I'll negotiate a lighter sentence for you and fix the area around the Big House while you sleep so Nico won't ever know about it. I'll give you the full judgment when you wake up tomorrow privately when they are done debating it!" she spoke softly with eyes slightly glazed over. Ok, that was weird, a good weird because it meant that Nico wouldn't freak out if the Goddess had to go plead Hazel's case but still weird if two Persephone's were at the camp at the same time. Imagine if they did 'War Games' with a couple of hundred Persephone's ... it would be carnage!

"So you are in two places at once ... that's pretty weird!" she spoke up to voice her thoughts as her mind pictured each God being attacked by themselves. It was enough to give her a headache and she wasn't even the one with thousands of her running around.

"You get used to it, I'm the Goddess of Springtime and Queen of the Underworld so being in multiple places at one time is the only way I can ever get my work done. So many pieces of paperwork, so much to prepare for, and so little time. Speaking of time; Nico sounds like he's finishing up so you might want to get changed yourself!" Persephone did the whole snap thing and a similar pile of white clothing and toiletries appeared out of thin air. Hazel gathered them in her hands as she swapped places with a sleepy looking Nico as he exited the bathroom. Smiling and pleased to see him look a little less for wear; Hazel went onto her tip toes to place a small affectionate kiss on his head as a small thanks for always being there before entering the en-suite to change.

Inside the care package was a range of items with the main one being a matching set of a pure white long-sleeved pyjama top and a black and white tartan bottoms with drawstring ties. There was also refreshingly a new pair of black underwear, thank the Gods, and even a new matching sports bra which Hazel nearly cried with joy for. When she had first arrived out of the Underworld, Nico had provided basic clothing for her to wear so she could blend in with the Romans by stealing a small measure of gold from their father's palace and the sight of the new developments in underwear was a great relief because 1930s clothing was not in many forms as comfortable as the modern day's equivalent. There was also the fact that Camp Half-blood was good for many things such as adventure and exploration but their laundry was lacking something terrible thanks to the overpopulation of Romans and Greeks living together and needing to get things cleaned off. The infirmary thankfully had its own laundry for medical uniforms so there wasn't cross-contamination but still there was quite a waiting list for washing clothes and Hazel admitted that her last bra had been getting a little uncomfortably gross. Fortunately the simple white one provided was perfectly her sized, though she wouldn't wear it to bed because it would just annoy her too much so she placed it gently in her private cabinet and quickly changed in silence.

After, when she began to reach for the door, a faint murmuring of conversation caught her ear as she heard her brother's voice; " ... but what if I lose control again? Each time I close my eyes ... the nightmares ... they just get worse and worse. What if I start to lose it in the middle of the night? What if ... what if I hurt Hazel? I ... I don't ... I don't have much control when I'm like that and every time I could sink the entire cabin into the ground! I could start swinging my sword around and accidentally ... accidentally murder my own sister. It's not safe for her to be here, its not safe for anyone to be here! I see it when I come out of the trance in the morning; the look of fear in her eyes and I know its because of me. Because I terrify her and she knows that I could hurt her and I don't want to but I know I can and that scares the living daylights out of me!"

Hazel's hands shook as she held them to her mouth so she wouldn't reveal her presence. She shouldn't be eavesdropping but to hear the true extent of the damage done to her big brother was something she just needed to hear. Curse Gaea, curse fucking Hera, curse all the Gods for making him like this. Now Hazel understood the strange look in Nico's eyes from the last few nights when she caught him desperately trying to force himself into a corner after waking up screaming from a nightmare. He wasn't afraid of some random monster, Hazel realised with an earthshattering and stomach churning shock, he was afraid of himself. Afraid that if he'd even allow himself to drop his guard that Hazel would be a causality; no wonder he tried his best to stay awake. No wonder he never wanted to talk about his nightmares or cringed away from her touch as she tried in the past to assure him he was safe. Tears grew in Hazel's eyes as she tried her best to hold in a heartbroken sob at the broken wreckage that was her big brother's soul before she quickly wiped them away with a resounding swipe.

No. No. No. Hazel wasn't going to let him close himself off and drive himself away from her. She was his sister, his little sister, and she was not losing him no matter what. She straightened her back as she pulled herself together. Nico needed her and she would be there for him no matter what, no matter who pulled her away and no matter how much he tried to get her to leave. Now was the time that she show herself to be his flesh and blood - because she was going to make him better. She was going to dedicate herself to his wellbeing like nothing before and she wasn't going to let him have one more day when he felt this self-doubt and terror grip him.

Striding from the bathroom; Hazel quickly grabbed Nico's surprised face and looked him in the eyes with a look of pure resolve.

"Listen to me Nico Di Angelo! I will not, nor never will be, afraid of you nor will I ever leave you again. We will survive this and I will help you to get better. You are my brother and I am your sister; we are all we have in this world and I refuse to let you push me away or hurt yourself because of what has happened to you. I'm not saying it will be easy but I promise I won't stop trying; I just need you to promise you will try as well!" Hazel stated, leaving no room for debate as she glared at him - daring him to refuse or shy away from her - and kept his eyes fixed on hers. Nico looked shocked at the fury behind her words, but Hazel refused to apologise as she pleaded silently with her eyes for him to help her try to mend the broken parts of himself. She just needed him to agree, to help kick start the journey, and then she was sure they would be able to achieve anything they wanted because he was. Not. Going. To. Leave. Her. Again.

"She speaks the truth, Nico, we are here for you. Now, you say that you are not comfortable with sleeping because you believe you are a danger to yourself and others in your dreamlike state - fine, let's remedy that. I give you my word that I will keep watch throughout the night, and if you show any signs of becoming unstable or if the nightmares get too vivid, then I can and will pull you out of them. I will stay all night to do this and I swear that if you do become violent then I will protect your sister and keep you from doing anything to the cabin and to the camp if need be. I am a Goddess of the Underworld and Nature; I have enough power within me to restrain you if necessary and I will not allow anyone to be harm you or be harmed by you on my word as a Goddess!" Persephone did this weird thing then of crossing her heart with a sideways scratch that seemed to glow like a golden stream against her earthy black skin; a binding contract Hazel mused as she watched the golden scratched cross fade into her flesh. 

Nico looked at them both uncertainly but still he nodded, not obviously trusting himself to speak, and settled into the bed he'd claimed for his own in silence. Content at the silent consent to her presence; Persephone quietly tucked her brother in before whispering a sweet goodnight and then escorting Hazel away to her bed and did the same. Hazel smiled at the action, remising sadly about the many times her own mother had done the same action but somehow it did not sting too much to have another do the same motherly action. Maybe because she was still thirteen years old and had lost her mother so was now desperate for a maternal figure or maybe it was just the comforting nature of Persephone's presence that made Hazel feel safe and protected behind the powerful woman who'd volunteered herself despite the very existence of Nico and Hazel being a very real reminder of her own husband's infidelity. Whatever it was; Hazel was grateful for the gesture as she silently watched the Goddess gather Nico and Hazel's clothes and fold them into neat piles on one of the spare beds. Each movement the woman made was purposeful, clean and nimble as she smoothed down creases and elegantly gathered the material into the shape she wanted. Hestia sat on the floor next to her, looking slightly concerned at the obvious despair in Persephone's eyes but obviously letting the woman have her own space. Persephone's mouth was moving slightly as she silently mumbled words that Hazel couldn't quite make out but were obviously critical of the condition of the clothing in front of her as her eyes glared at the rips and wear done to the borrowed items with obvious annoyance. It was ... kind of adorable in a way with the slight pout at the mouth that reminded Hazel of a little child who'd got her dinner all over her face and was now having a silent temper tantrum over it. Who knew that the Goddess of the Underworld could get so annoyed over something so small as unkempt clothing?

With that last humorous thought; Hazel slowly drifted off to sleep to the quiet sound of a cackling fire, murmured annoyance and her brother's soft snoring snorts that reminded her so sweetly of baby pigs ... and then viciously hunting them down and tearing out their throats.


	4. POV - Frank

**_Falling Down and Getting back up:_ **

**_By R. L. Collins_ **

* * *

_What just happened?_

Frank took a shaking breath as he limped weakly towards the Greek Infirmary on the orders of a severely annoyed daughter of Apollo, trying his best not to let out groans of pain as he clutched the wounds on his leg with his battered arm to stop the wounds from gushing too much blood. If he was to guess, he most likely would have to undertake yet another round of Ambrosia and Unicorn draught under the watchful eye of the Greek Head Doctor William Solace - a prospect he was slightly dreading as he had promised the guy that he wouldn't try to aggravate it much before taking off after the stretcher carrying the unconscious body of his (hopefully still but after that argument it was doubtful) girlfriend so he could keep her company till she awoke from the powerful tranquiliser dart lodged in her body. The teenager might seem relaxed outside of his clinic on music night as he listened to his fellow camp mates sing out bad 90s renditions but Frank swore that he'd either somehow trained under Lupa to get a Wolf Stare that could make Jason Grace freeze in place or had some serious guts to face down anyone till they eventually gave into undertaking any medical procedure they were trying to sneak out of. Even Nico Di Angelo himself couldn't stand up to the guy - that was how persuasive the young healer could be and Frank was not looking forward to informing him of the fact his injuries had been opened up and worsened after restraining the hysterical yet somehow still captivatingly stunning Hazel Levesque.

"Frank!" a frightened shout rang out as he slightly stumbled into the infirmaries' doorstep, letting a small groan of pain as tendrils of pain radiated up his body from the now fully reopened wound from his girlfriends' razor sharp teeth. The bite had already twinged a little when he was waiting for Hazel to awake from the drug induced slumber and the action of having to restrain her from running out into the woods screaming her brother's name had definitely not helped matters. Frank looked up to see the concerned face of Jason as his fellow former Praetor wrapped an arm around his waist to help him towards an unoccupied cot nearby, as he let out a prayer of thanks that the ceramic flower pot hadn't done too much damage to the guy's head because he had heard the impact sound of it breaking over Jason's skull and it was loud.

Frank collapsed into the cot with a shuddering cry as his leg finally gave out on him, to the alarm of the campers and Romans around him as the adrenaline of the day left him cold and in so much agony. To be honest, this was not the way he had planned for today to go - nearby bashing his head in on the cot bed's headboard as the injuries on his body caused by the girl he ... he ... he loved. For the Gods sake, he was supposed to be relaxing today and getting some quality time with her so they could figure out exactly what this new relationship meant for the two of them. He had planned everything, a small picnic on the beach, maybe a gentle hike in the woods and a candle lit dinner for two as they watched the fireworks planned for today's bonfire in celebration of their victory over Gaia but then it all went wrong. He had woken up early to put together the small breakfast feast from a small thermal flask of hot chocolate to the chocolate brioches that Hazel adored which he had managed to convince the Harpies to make specially for this special breakfast - dodging the mocking laughter of his fellow bunkmates at the cheesy idea of having a picnic with his girlfriend, who thought it was absolutely hilarious at the nervous state it had rendered him in as he went over again and again the various items he needed to remember or else it would all go down the drain. He'd been just about to walk towards her cabin when he noticed the commotion and from there on it just went insanely bad - first Nico shadow travelled to who knows where, then Hazel stated to have a panic infused breakdown, then she turned into a wolf, and finally tried to rip their tormentor's arm off with her bare teeth before she turned on him. Frank had known Hazel to have a slight angry side to her with the frequent cursing under her breath that she'd learned from the 'helpfully informative' rest of their cohort in the weeks they had spent there but he had never known such ... passionately pure hatred before that burned within the girl who'd enchanted him for so long. She was all over the place - happy, then sad, then playful, then psychopathically insane, then happy again - and Frank could have blamed it on the drugs in her system but he ... he knew better.

If there was one thing that could make Hazel Levesque go absolutely bat crazy over it was her brother - Nico Di Angelo, the one person on earth who Hazel hero worshiped to the extreme. Frank had listened to her rants and ravings about how amazing her big brother was for days upon end, how kind yet fiercely strong her was, how he definitely needed a haircut, and how no one could ever beat him in combat because he was legitimately the best swordsmen ever. She praised him without end, and when even the slightest hint of insulting behaviour was seen by anyone in the direction of her big brother - she was vicious in correcting them to the point of making more than a couple of seasoned Roman Legionnaires cry their eyes out as a result of her verbal smack downs. Hazel adored her big brother and there was no one in the world who could ever dissuade her of what she termed to be an unwavering fact; they could convince her that red was blue or 2+2=3 before that could ever happen. Frank never felt threatened by this - family was something he understood after all and he felt the same way about his mother's untarnishable memory so he had never questioned how devoted his girlfriend was to hers but today was something else. She had actually attacked a girl, and Frank knew that if he wasn't there to defend the screaming abuser then they would be cleaning the blood from the ground right now as well as a set of twisted and unmoving bones because that was just how violent she could get when she was angry and a wolf.

Gods above, his girlfriend had turned into a wolf - a real, actual reddish-blackish wolf - and Frank was sure that he would never forget the screaming wails that escaped her agonised form as he watched in horror at the grotesque way her bones broke and dislocated to form the lupine anatomy that it was forced into. It made his blood run cold and his mind to grow fuzzy with absolute terror for the girl who was his greatest friend, love, and companion as she endured a fate no one deserved to suffer. The idea of her in pain went against everything he'd ever stood for and he would have given anything for the torture to be given to him instead rather than the beautifully tragic yet resilient love of his life. He loved Hazel Levesque, that point was beyond dispute, and anything that caused her to cry deserved a slow and unrelenting death followed by an eternity in the fields of punishment in her realm. He had already given his silent oath on everything he'd ever held dear that if he ever discovered who had drugged his girl - he would not stop until they were nothing but a broken wreak in the deepest hole he could find. Forget honour, forget oaths to his Roman duties, forget ethics - all that mattered was that Hazel would never cry again and Frank could never express his distress at having contributed to that pain by following Jason's orders to contain his hysterical lady who had at one point expressed true love for him and the next tried to scratch his eyes out before openly falling apart before his eyes while clutching the meagre possessions he'd stupidly implied were a sign of needing help.

Why had he done it? Why had he opened his big fat mouth and commented on the ratted pyjamas that truly he had no business in talking about? They were old and tattered, it was no crime for his girlfriend to sneak them away - hell he'd give her the clothes on his back if she wanted them - even if they were from his cabin so why had he started that disasterous sequence of events by offending her so badly and so crudely. Truly, he never should have spoken anything about it - it wasn't his business, it wasn't his life, and unless Hazel wanted to - the children of Hades had no reason to give him an explanation at all why they had to steal from the campers in order to survive. They deserved everything the campers of Camp Half-blood and Camp Jupiter had to offer as heroes and they knew that so why did he stupidly think it needed pointing out. He understood her rage, her absolute offense at the implication that they were just stealing things for pleasure because Hazel wasn't like that nor was her brother. They would never steal anything or do anything criminal unless it was for survival sake or to protect their loved ones because they out of everyone in the Greek or Roman world had the dignity and honour of being undisputed in terms of their golden ethics and morality. They were not criminals, they simply were trying to survive and Frank had done nothing but insinuate otherwise when he made that stupid comment. If he could take it back he would, if Hazel would accept his absolute regret he would do anything to make this right, but the damage had been done. He had implied the very worse of her and her beloved brother - he had to pay the consequences for his actions and if that meant she never wanted to see him again and was leaving the camps for good then it was on his head not hers.

He should have been more watchful of his temper, his tongue, and his attitude because right now - they seem to have cost him everything.

A warm feeling spread across his body as he was injected with what felt like a high dose of unicorn draught and strong hands forced him to drink from a glass of liquid that reminded him of a mug of hot chocolate that his mother had given him after he woke from a particularly bad nightmare when he was a kid. "Damn it, Zhang, stop undoing all my good work - I swear if I have to re-stitch one more wound because another fucking Roman pops their stiches again and the entire camp will be speaking in rhyming couplet till the next apocalypse rolls round!" William Solace muttered angrily, though Frank could see the exhaustion behind his eyes well enough. Not many of them had been sleeping well ever since the defeat of Gaia a mere week ago; and already the effects were being seen with raised tempers in the leaders from sleep deprivation and a almost zombie like state for others where they just walked around in a trance like manner as they sought to finish the mountain of things the War had called for. Transports for the Roman visitors, supplies for the Greeks, disputes between the two camps, the screaming from different cabins at night as Romans and Greeks alike imprisoned themselves behind emotional baggage - it was not exactly the most healthiest thing to be a half-blood right now.

"Sorry!" Frank mumbled back as he tried to move to a better position for the Doctor to work with, conscious of the eyes that captured every slight detail as nearby sick campers tried to figure out what was happening. That was one thing Frank found daunting about his Praetor role - the public scrutiny, because no matter how much paperwork he wrote, how many council meetings he sat through, and how many disputes he resolved ... Frank knew his position was a fragile one and one tiny misstep could end everyone's trust in his ability to do his job forever. Hazel always told him to be mindful of that, to act with the honour of a Roman but the enthusiasm of a Greek so people would know that he took the sacred duty they gave him with absolute respect and appreciation. He needed to watch his step now if he didn't want people to think either he or Hazel were giving signs of not being able to do their respective roles - for both their sakes.

Doctor Solace grumbled slightly under his breath as he worked to stitch together the newly torn flesh of his arm and leg, carefully threading his way as a nearby younger son of Apollo worked to keep the area he was working on clear of blood, before quietly whispering under his breath "... how's Hazel?" so quietly Frank struggled to even hear it this close up. There was a note of concern in his eyes as Frank considered the different platitudes in how to respond given the public audience, since he couldn't exactly lie to the guy who most people were convinced was severely crushing on Hazel's brother - the 'tiny Italian hero to end all heroes' in Hazel's own words. Frank took a moment to consider it, the obvious signs were there of course with the enhanced concern, nervous yet determined gestures, and intimate glances when Nico was imprisoned for his three day recovery that Frank noted with interest when Hazel practically decided that either the healers of the Apollo cabin could all join together and literally throw her out or allow her to take a permanent spot nearby to keep an eye on him during the majority of the day to keep the fear of losing her only family member left alive at bay. The son of Apollo was very attentive during that time, seemingly obsessed with making sure the Di Angelo boy wouldn't be left alone for even a minute as he calmed Hazel's fears by volunteering to stay with him while Frank practically dragged her from the infirmary to eat and do the basics in terms of human hygiene. Frank could tell with his no nonsense attitude that Doctor Solace was perfect in terms of a potential love interest to the son of Hades so he was comfortable with letting him know the extent of today's damage - just not with everyone listening in.

Frank was about to respond with a request to tell him later in private when another voice shouted out, "Crazier than Mr D on Crack Cocaine - seriously how the Hades do you even date that lunatic?" Frank fought the urge to growl and snap at the daughter of Apollo who swaggered into the infirmary with an air of superiority. Hazel was not crazy - traumatised maybe, drugged out of her mind definitely, but she was completely sane apart from the dependency on her brother and slight obsessiveness over learning every single fact imaginable about every poet and poem known to man. Seriously, she muttered lines of Keats and William Blake all the time and could recite from memory every sonnet from Shakespeare without prompt or issue to the point where either she was a secret daughter of Apollo or she had a problem because no dyslexic girl with ADHD could ever hope to obsess that badly over something so bizarre. She recited poetry while riding the Roman horses, training with her spata - Hades knows how many times he'd catch her muttering them while supposedly sleeping in her bunk in the fifth cohort barracks when he was 'volunteered' to wake her up for dawn time training.

Frank settled upon a threatening glare as he spoke up, "Hazel is ... a little off right now, but she's actually one of the sweetest people in the world, a crucial member of the Seven heroes, and my girlfriend so I suggest you talk about her with more respect, Doctor!" Frank always hated when people spoke badly of people when they weren't there to defend themselves - especially when said person was the woman who had confessed love to him for just a few hours before. By the Gods she looked beautiful when she spoke those wonderfully powerful words to him with a sleepy smile and hair that looked utterly messy yet to his eyes more perfect than any stupidly complicated hairstyle he'd ever seen. Her eyes were a soft golden like the first rays of sunlight through stained glass, while her voice was that perfectly raspy and low quality that Frank could barely stop himself from thinking it the perfect vocal equivalent of melted caramel which made him want to shudder in remembering because it was that good. The warmth of her sweet breath, the softness of her palms as they caressed his cheeks, and the distinct feeling that time itself had slowed down when she kissed him fiercely with more passion than Frank had ever known would definitely haunt him tonight as he clung to the good parts of the events of today rather than the terrible ones. He wanted to remember this day as the day Hazel Levesque called him her 'Hero' and that she loved him - not the day when she screamed every insult and obscenity in the book at his face while trying to rip his throat out because he'd picked a fight that most likely just cost him said love.

Kayla leaned against the nearby door, ignoring the glare of annoyance at her disrespect levelled by Frank and the look of caution Frank noted William Solace was throwing her as well. "Well, I'm not quite sure how to tell you this Zhang, but your girlfriend makes crazy look sane and right now she's one tea cup away from being the mad hatter so I don't think she can be put on a pedestal any longer. Seriously, who the hell gets so defensive over pyjamas anyway? Not to mention she's one of the most foul-mouthed patients I've ever come across, and the racist language isn't appealing in the slightest - like who refers to themselves like that in the modern world? I don't understand how in the world you even fell for her!" Kayla ranted as the patients nearby looked at each other with raised eyebrows at the blunt remarks. Frank knew he often was guilty of putting her as Kayla was putting it 'on a pedestal' - but considering how impressively she handled herself in battle and how wonderfully sweet she could otherwise be to those she loved, what else could he do but consider her his perfect lady love. A flicker of images played in his mind as he remembered how oddly beautiful she looked when she handled the blade from earlier, a look of battle in her eyes and her lithe form moving with such sudden rage it had been hard to actually restrain himself from acting ungentlemanly towards her later when she was kissing him again. That kiss ... when before they had only professed chaste and sweetly small kisses, the kiss she bestowed upon him as she awoke had been nothing but passion unrestrained. The noises she had made, little moans and whimpers that would make his blood run hot with desire that he knew was wrong given their unmarried status but a much bigger part of him begged for him to steal more of them with every passing moment away from her.

In short, Hazel Levesque had possessed him body and soul - and Frank knew he'd never love someone in the way he loved her.

She was so violently delightful; one moment chastely giggling 'my hero' as she kissed his cheek before the next moment practically sitting in his lap as they gave into the passionate wonder of having confessed their love. Her violent temper had left him strangely ... happy because in truth Hazel had never looked better than when she was annoyed at something. Every little swear that passed through her lips made his head fuzzy, her rapid breathing as she raved made him practically having to force himself to remain looking into her eyes and not the dark skin at her pulse point where he ached to kiss, and then there was the fact that before when she was just coming out of her transformation that she was clothed in only a rather large blanket was something he'd never be able to forget. Frank knew it wasn't honourable to think that way but he was young, in love, and his girlfriend was practically glowing while spitting insults and attacking his friends so he didn't much care at that point how weird it was to love someone who'd practically ripped his leg off with her bare teeth. Hades, she could set fire to his life stick and he'd probably thank her for the lovely sight of her before he bit it - maybe he'd even try to escape Elysium if he could to see if she had visited her own father in his underworld palace sometime so he could ask for one last kiss.

Will Solace awoke him from his thoughts by a hissing shout, "Kayla! That is not how healers talk about their patients nor does it qualify for a reason why you left her alone, unattended, in her recovery!" before expertly wrapping a tight bandage around his now clean and neatly gauze covered injuries in a manner that seemed almost effortless. Frank looked sharply at the girl, practicing his wolf stare to see if that would shut the girl up so he wouldn't have to defend his girlfriend's honour while in his less than desired condition. Bow and arrow might be a good weapon to learn but Frank wasn't afraid to come to blows if it meant the girl would stop bad mouthing the girl he loved. Hazel Levesque was ... was not the sort of girl you'd talk bad about - given her selection of high-powered friends and the fact her brother could and had taken on whole armies basically by himself to the point of wading through monster dust on the battlefield. Nico. Frank prayed to his father and the Gods that he wasn't hurt because if he was and Frank had been the one to hold back his devoted sister from defending him - Hazel would slit his throat while he slept and parade around in his flayed off skin till she got bored and went to the Fields of Punishment to torment him for the rest of his existence. What had he done?

"Sorry Will but I'm not being hit in the head by a plastic bedside table - I don't care how severe the condition of the patient is! I'm tired, I'm hungry, my feet hurt, and someone has messed up the water pressure in the cabin so I haven't had a shower yet and won't till the Hephaestus guys sort it out. I am certainly not caring for a girl who's gone loco crazy with teeth, I don't care how much of a crush you have on her brother!" Kayla barked back as she got comfortable in a nearby chair, curling up like some feral feline without a care for the venom she was spitting with every word. Frank forced himself to breath and calm down, violence wouldn't solve anything at this point and he wasn't capable to doing anything about it anyway in his condition. His leg burned slightly from the pain still and his arm felt pinched like a monster giant crab had gripped him tight in its giant claws - no heroics could be done like this. Besides, by the looks of it the Doctor might get to her first judging by the outraged scarlet hue on the guy's face.

Will spluttered out denials, "I ... I ... I ... I don't have a crush on Nico!" as he stared at her enraged by her accusation. Frank sighed at his obliviousness as did the rest of the healers milling about around them while the patients either snorted or outright laughed till they groaned clutching their injured bodies from the vibrations. He looked around bewildered, with no small amount of annoyance for his sister's statement as he stared down each one of the patients - daring them to contradict him and every single one of them did in their own little way. Frank was sure if it was him who'd had his crush practically shouted from the rooftops by his obnoxious younger sibling - he would feel exactly the same way, angry, scared, in denial, and utterly terrified of people informing the object of said trust all about it. He had to hand it to the young Doctor that he was able to stay in the same room even, most would run like there was Hellhounds on their trail from the embarrassment or start a potentially very violent brawl but maybe it was just shock that kept the guy pinned into the spot he stood in. Maybe it was duty perhaps, but whatever it was Frank was sure more than ever that the guy was lying.

Kayla moved to stand directly in front of her elder brother and Head Councillor, before opening her big mouth again. "So the whole brooding, short, dark haired hero type doesn't appeal to you? Gods above Solace - the freaking whole camp probably knows how you've had the hots for the guy for like forever and that he's more gayer than a New York Pride Parade on LSD!" Frank reached for his sword, furious about how disrespectful she was being towards his girlfriend's brother - who he desperately wanted to have like him for Hazel and his own sake. Nico was ... strange, Frank would admit, but no one deserved to be outed like that and he didn't want Hazel to hear it either as she was still in the dark regarding such things about her brother's personal life. How would she react, Frank wondered, given 1930s beliefs about homosexuality to hearing about her brother being homosexual? No doubt she'd freak out, break some things, and generally be in denial till the end of time in hopes that she could 'cure her brother' in order to 'protect him' or something like that. He wasn't judging, it was pretty mind boggling to be honest and when he heard the rumours circulating about the eldest Pluto's child's sexuality Frank himself was pretty much in shock because it just ... didn't seem like it could be real. Everyone had thought that Nico was straight and crushing hard on Annabeth, at least until it was gossiped about that it was really Percy Jackson who'd been the subject of the crush and that the guy was basically still in the deepest depths of the closet on the whole issue. Frank didn't get the attraction - Percy Jackson just didn't seem like the best subject of a crush because A) he loved Percy like a brother but the guy was oblivious as a blind badger with 90s style headphones on and B) it was well known that Percy and Annabeth (or Percebeth as the Aphrodite Cabin called them) was the 'it couple' in Camp so there was no chance for anyone to get with the guy anyway. Thus, it was pretty much a shock to hear about the whole thing until of course the moment when he caught Nico accidentally checking out Will Solace's midriff during a particularly rigorous archery session ... and then the whole thing started to make sense as rather a case of hero worship than a crush with Will Solace being Nico's 'true first crush' instead. It was all rather teenage drama and Frank was sure that the guy wouldn't appreciate the spotlight so he hoped the subject would change soon before he had to publically behead the daughter of Apollo to get her to stop talking.

Will stared at her again, looking like a goldfish with large eyes and a mouth that opened and closed ever so often, before he spoke again. "Even ... even if that was true - which it is not! - that still doesn't excuse leaving her alone without supervision after the trauma she's just endured! Now what's her condition so I can head over there and do your job for you, Apollo knows I don't have enough to do anyway!" Will's Texan accent began to show as frustration took over the Doctor's face, making him look more and more fiercer as he rounded the conversation back to a more comfortable subject to Frank's relief.

"A few minor cuts and bruises, nothing too bad because of the Nectar you let Austin inject (a complete recipe for disaster if you ask me since he can't measure for shit) as well as a huge fucking seizure which lasted around two and a half minutes, but she remained breathing. After she ate the entire platter of sandwhiches you sent over as well as the jug of juice like an animal before she went full blown crazy pants and we had to book it!" Kayla mumbled as she began to give into the look of fury and disappointment her brother was giving her. Thank the Gods she at least had the shame to blush guiltily at the dressing down her brother was giving her or he would think her mad. Frank rose slightly from his prone position as he tried to choke down the memories of that particular detail of the most terrible day of his life ... before ultimately failing as his mind flickered images of watching Hazel lying on the floor of her cabin as she drifted between death and life. The horrid shaking which set his teeth on edge and made him want to scream in frustration at not being able to help her - rather being ordered to back away so that Kayla could keep an eye on her breathing even if every nerve ending was shrieking at him to hold her close to his chest where he could protect her. That was his natural instinct with dealing with her though - to gather her close so he could keep her from harm and protect her back from surprise attacks, and it didn't hurt that Hazel was just the right height to tuck her comfortably under his chin where her natural scent of hot chilies and coffee grounds clung best his skin. 

Frank turned to the nearby window as he tried to figure out the time, making a crude guess that is was almost dusk judging by the slowly retreating sunlight as Apollo bid goodnight to the world below. He looked around to see campers, Greek and Roman alike, just milling about in unbearable silence as Frank supposed they were trying to figure out the truth of the events of the morning which he guessed must be pretty varied thanks to idle or uninformed gossip. Ever so often he caught some of them risk glances at Cabin Thirteen with varied expressions from fear, to concern, and even to outright hatred in many of the Venus Campers who'd heard about the maiming of Piper early on. That was to be expected - Hazel's drugged up hysteria and paranoia had scared many who were already still jumpy from the War and no doubt they were concerned as to the effects of having four Big Three Children in the Camp for this prolonged period of time. If it was up to Frank - the Romans would have left quicker but Reyna had often pointed out that it was their people who'd attacked Camp Half-blood so restoring relations between them would take more time so he'd acquiesced to her request to slow transportation back to New Rome as a result. She wanted to have time to let the wounded heal up long enough for safe travel, to help with the rebuilding work by having teams of Greek and Roman Campers, and at the end of it - have a formal celebration where a treaty of alliance would be signed by Lupa and Chiron as a matter of formally recognising the end to the civil war between the fractions. All good and responsible things, but looking back - Frank should have just grabbed Hazel and her brother before running for it because if he did then none of the chaos of the morning would have happened. In New Rome, the three of them would be safe, happy and away from the horrors that had forced one of them to flee, the other to rage, and him to his bed where he couldn't. Do. Anything. To. Help them.

"Kayla! I don't give a flying Hera about how insulting she is when she's pissed off, you should have a calmer head and dealt with it using your training - not giving over to some immature strop and walking away from a potential health risk!" Will's voice rang through Frank's ears, prompting him to action as he was pulled back from the regretful spiral of his mind. Regrets would do nothing to help this situation, only managing the destructive aftermath could do that and given the distrust and fear in the eyes of the patients obviously listening in - he had to act fast to prevent a lynch mob from erupting. Damn Kayla for voicing her toxic opinion so openly, did she want a riot on her hands or something?

Frank resisted the urge to growl as he forced himself upright, gaining the worried explanations of the two Doctors, as he breathed through the pain of having weight put on his injured leg. Pain was manageable, so was this situation - at least until the healing draughts wear off. "Will Solace - I am not an invalid and I have work to do so don't even think of ordering me to lie down and rest!" Frank ordered, using all of his remaining effort to regain authority over the situation. He was a son of Mars, a legacy of Poseidon, and the Praetor of Camp Jupiter so Frank judged that he should have enough power in him to enforce his words as he forced his face to become impassive. Sure his leg felt like it was on fire and his arm was bitten and scratched to the Underworld and back but that was physical pain not mental so he could deal with it with slow breathing and a resilient mind. "Kayla, go and cool off - you are no good to patients like this and while you are at it, please note that if Nico ever hears you referring to his little sister is such terms again then I am sure no one will ever find your body. I apologise for not informing you of how Hazel gets when she is angry, and I ask you not to judge your patients so quickly in return. As for the issue you have with the ... way she referred to herself; you will have to reconcile yourself with it as I have myself because language like that is practically innate for her. Hazel swears like a sailor practically all the time - in fact if you want to blame someone for it, then I suggest you talk to the fellow members of the Fifth Cohort since she learned quite a bit from them - and her supposed racism is merely a result of her own upbringing in a very racially enflamed South during the 1920s and 30s, not a modern day character flaw as you are so kindly suggesting!" Frank tried his best to inform them as he took a glancing look outside to keep an eye on Cabin Thirteen in case there was an issue. Sure it was pretty ... hard at first to hear Hazel refer to herself using racial slurs more suited to Neo Nazis and old school Republican politicians but Frank never really blamed her for it. That was the way things were back then, and he never expected her to magically change her entire world view over the course of a mere summer - rather he hoped that maybe one day he could convince her to look at her own hands and see more than just the colour which had restrained much of her life ... preferably maybe with a small band of gold if she so chose it.

Wait what?

Since when had he been thinking that far ahead in their relationship? Well ... he maybe ... kinda ... okay, maybe sometimes he'd wonder what music they would play for their first dance ... definitely something old school, maybe a swing song from her decade like a Benny Goodman or an Andrew Sisters record, and maybe he'd made some discrete inquires into some of the best dancers in Camp in order to surprise her with being able to dance to that sort thing but other than that, no. Well ... he maybe also had wondered after Nico made that off comment about being flower boy at their wedding whether he'd be asking him for permission to marry her or maybe her father (an ordeal he really hoped he'd never have to do because to be honest Pluto scared the living daylights out of him). And there was that time when he made a mental note to have a wedding buffet with a lot of gumbo because seriously Hazel loved Shrimp Gumbo like it was her own child so maybe ... who was he kidding, he'd marry her tomorrow if she asked him to. A shocked noise to his left belonging to Kayla he supposed woke him from images of a delightful Levesque girl battling it out with him over their marital last name (would they hyphen it Levesque-Zhang or Zhang-Levesque?) as she stumbled out "The 1920s?" in a voice of disbelief.

Frank sighed as he considered his options; neither of the children of Pluto enjoyed talking about their personal life being very private individuals but if he didn't curtail rumours then there was going to a major problem at hand. It really wasn't his place to tell her anything too personal but maybe he could just limit it to the specific details that was needed and beg for forgiveness from them both later, preferably with food because Hazel really should eat more given the ease he had in picking her off the ground slightly earlier. "Long story short - Hazel is undead and Nico was in a prison world, hence they were born in the 1920s but look like teenagers, and trust me its pretty much a sore point for them both. Nico seems to be a little better adjusted because his memory was erased by the waters of Lethe but Hazel remembers everything in crystal clear detail. She remembers not being able to vote, not being able to use the same facilities as 'white folks', the lynch mobs, KKK, and its been a pretty bad road to get her out of that way of thinking. Why do you think she doesn't eat in the public without Nico or me accompanying her for safety, or why she always keeps quiet during quiz nights? For her father's sake; she practically freaked out the first time she saw me because she though I was Japanese guy who was going to kill and eat her as that was what all the American propaganda conditioned her to think - it took a full weekend for Nico to convince her I wasn't a threat and a fortnight for her to feel comfortable enough to talk alone with me without him there to reassure her. She's always apologised for that though and she's been trying her best to readjust to modern values, but she stumbles sometimes so trust me when I say its not a fun thing for her to deal with!" Frank confessed, trying to keep the focus on things that were more public matters. Everyone knew that those events happened, it was a case of public record after all, and therefore not as personal as details specific to them and the three cases he listed were also well-known in the Roman Army because its pretty hard not to notice when one newbie soldier avoids being near another, when said newbie didn't eat with the others and why she didn't interact during public gatherings such as quiz nights in the Fifth Cohort Barracks. Nothing too personal, yet nothing too non-descript either so people wouldn't think it wasn't serious enough to take notice of.

Frank took a deep breath and prayed to all the Gods, Roman and Greek alike, that they would forgive his words before looking back towards the occupants of the infirmary hesitantly. 

The varied reactions around him made him comforted to know it wasn't a bad choice, with a mixture of looks of awed shock, to sympathetic sadness, to even a few people gritting their teeth in resolute anger - not at her but with her - such as Will's brother Austin at the familiar tale of racially based horror. Jason in particular had the good grace, Gods of Olympus he needs to spend a little less time around Jackson, to hesitate in his quiet murmurs to his neighbouring bunkmate and girlfriend as he held her hand to lessen the pain of having her forearm stitched back together by one of the Apollo healers. Frank could see him close his eyes slightly in an attempt to keep calm and rational before he turned his head to meet Frank's own eyes with a silent 'be careful what you say here, Zhang' warning. Even Kayla looked ashamed, looking down again at her feet with a look of pure guilt and shame on her face harder than anything her brother had managed to install in her. Apparently there was nothing that could get a person to feel disgusted with their actions than to remind them that the person they act against is a human being too.

Will Solace was the first to properly react by speaking, "Oh Gods of Olympus! Give me a minute to get my first aid kit, I'll head out there immediately - Gods above why didn't Nico mention being born in another decade? Think of how many vaccinations he'll need!" as he dashed off towards a nearby desk stacked with random medical files and crisp wrappers. A large part of Frank cringed at the chaotic mess that littered the surface that seemed so at odds with the rest of the infirmary which was crisp, hygienic and blindingly bleached to the lightest shade of white. Moving slowly thanks to his injuries, Frank situated himself to lean against the pillar at one end of the desk which provided some support as he concealed himself more from prying eyes by utilising the nearby screen as a shield against them. Jason joined him, shooing away the concerned expression on Piper with a sharp look as he stood opposite in order to enforce his newfound protectiveness towards Nico and subsequently his sister. He watched as the Doctor quickly grabbed what looked like a dark green toolbox which he began to frantically stock with all sorts of bandages, medical threads, pills, and some comically funny looking smiley faced band aids as he muttered down a list of vaccines he'd need to inject when Nico returned as well as Hazel - something Frank knew would most likely end with Nico submitting reluctantly to the shots while Hazel would probably throw him through a window at this point.

Kayla unhelpfully regained what she must have believed to be righteous indignation as she spoke again, "That still doesn't explain why I should forgive her for being a crazy pants possessive girl who throws things when she's pissed off! Its not as if we're some Nazis trying to racially profile her or something, so why did she get so upset over some freaking pyjamas?" Frank took a readying breath again as sharp spikes of pain radiated up his leg as she spoke from the pain. No doubt he'd be feeling that tomorrow at swords practice with Clarisse; he'd have to dose up some pain pills in order to get through that. Clarisse was good at many things, but taking it easy on her younger brothers was not one of them unless it was his younger sister on the Greek side Maisie Good in which case she could set Clarisse's hair on fire and get away with it. No doubt she'd already have a specially designed fear-stoking speech for the training, something along the lines of "toughen up maggots, or you'll all be doing laps nude - not you though, Maisie, you're an angel and we're thrilled to have you here!" or other.

Frank tried to focus on the present to keep the pain from showing as he spoke up again in defence of the lady in question with a haze of rage clouding his judgement. "Kayla ... it's not as simple as that - although you don't seem to see it. When I made that comment about stealing, it may have seemed harmless to you but then again you are not a child of Pluto/Hades because they are very, very sensitive to such things. Their father is the representation of the Final Justice in the world so to accuse them of committing even a minor crime like stealing pyjamas must be extremely insulting and degrading towards their morality they get from him. Its like accusing a Daughter of Nemesis of being too wrathful or a Son of Hephaestus of not having creativity - Hazel and Nico's sense of justice is ingrained inside their minds and by insulting that, it made her rightfully infuriated. Then you have to take into account her own personal history, because Hazel Levesque lived most of her childhood was spent in practical squalor and near permanent starvation thanks to the fact her mother couldn't afford the basics needed to survive. Her own grandmother was a slave born in a Southern plantation, and her mother used her mother's mystic teachings and other types of magic to get the money they needed to eat even though customers were scarce. It's no wonder that she would hold her small amount of possessions close as a result of all that, and thanks to the 1930s Depression Era negative view of charity - to offer her help would be an almost slap in the face to her pride and dignity. And I'm sorry that your fragile sensibilities have been injured by her vulgar words, but sometimes you have to just deal with it because that is just how she is. Hazel Levesque is .... insane sometimes, a combination of being socially isolated for her entire first life and then surviving a very tragic series of events that Hazel eventually died by drowning underwater in her own mother's arms to delay the return of the Giants. Then you have to add the fact that even after she died - she was given no heroes rest because she gave up her chance for Elysium so her mother wouldn't be forever imprisoned in the Fields of Punishment for her actions in life. She spent decades waiting in the Fields of Asphodel in hopes of seeing her mother again, never speaking and completely conscious of every single maddening moment of her time in limbo. It was only through the grace of luck that her brother managed to restore her to life and even after she suffered every day from crippling flashbacks and bouts of self-imposed isolation - so are you really surprised she is like this? For the Gods sake, Kayla, just give the girl a freaking break!" Frank's voice was almost growling as he spoke thanks to his anger and pain levels. Thankfully, he kept his volume level low so that only those closest to him would hear because Jason seriously looked almost about ready to kill him for blurting out Hazel's tragic backstory so loosely.

Yep, Hazel was going to kill him.

"I ... I ... I didn't know ...!" Kayla spluttered as she looked finally at everyone in hopes of finding support for her statements, before quickly excusing herself and vacating the room. With her gone, Frank found himself breathing easier yet the tightening noose of fear that if Hazel ever found out that he ever revealed private information about her in his babbling anger - she would most likely either eat him or flay him alive over hot coals so she could have her meat medium rare. Crap.

Frank turned to the stunned faces of Jason and Will, taking into account the fact that most likely Hazel would end up interacting with at least one of them by tomorrow, as he closed his eyes to take a steadying breath. "

 

"We need to supervise Hazel so she doesn't harm herself, that's the priority right now. I'll set up a councilling schedule for them both and see about getting them the help they need - but right now the seizures are the main concern. Kayla, wake up Austin and tell him he's on call - I'll be with her till I can convince her to come to the infirmary when she calms down!"

"I'll go with you!"

"You will stay still on that cot bed and recover or I'll have Jackson freeze you there! I'm used to her brother's attitude, his sister won't effect me!"1f

"Will, you are dead on your feet! How long has it been since you last took a break or slept or I don't know - showered?"

"I can't think about that right now, I have a patient to see - I'll deal with those things later!"

"Hey Doc? Do you see those lights too man, because either I'm high or there's something up with the fireflies around here!"

"That's ... that's Nico!"

"Who's with him?"

"Looks like Persephone has got him - huh, thought they hated each other on account on you know him being her husband's bastard?"

"She did say she'd found him but I didn't think she'd actually escort him back to his cabin, wonder what's up with that?"

"Don't know, Hazel never met the woman before - she's only spoken to her dad like once or twice maybe?"

"Wow, at least she seems recovered!"

"Yeah ... I'm going to go over there - make sure they're ok and everything!"

"Oh relax will you, they seem fine - you on the other hand need a shower because no offense Will but you stink worse than the Stolls!"

"Kayla, please just stop talking!"

"William Solace, Praetor Zhang and Grace - there is a Council Session that is about to confer, you are required to attend!"

"Zhang!"

"I'm going to this Council whether you like it or not, Doctor, so either you help me up or I'll turn into a skunk and spray all over you!"

"Fine, I swear you Romans will run me into an early grave!"

"Don't say that Will, if you die - then who'll be asking Di Angelo to the Winter Solstice Bonfire Celebrations?"

"Shut it Kayla, or you'll be speaking in limericks till you die - which judging on whether Nico finds out you left his baby sister to fend for herself might be sooner than you expect!"


	5. POV - Will

""""""""""""


	6. POV - Persephone 2

**_Falling Down and Getting back up:_ **

**_By R. L. Collins_ **

* * *

_These years have broken my family beyond belief and what do I have in the end to show for it?_

Persephone sighed slightly as she reclined against the cold floor, absentmindedly using the journal in her lap to sketch her husband in a number of insulting caricatures, while she waited for the opportune time to wake her charges from their slumber. Admittedly, she had been thinking a lot about the events of yesterday in regards to her ... what? Ex-husband or current husband, Persephone didn't have the courage to know. Truthfully, she was absolutely terrified about what the future may bring to a newly divorced Goddess of Spring now that she'd thrown off her wedding ring, raised a blade to her husband in their bed chamber and reconciled with his bastard children - a fact that now brought both maternal joy and unending fear that she'd mess everything up. When they spoke to her it was as if a new light had been struck within her soul as she consoled them, tucked them into their beds, and watched over them as they slumbered - a light of maternal, feminine, unbreakable love that for so long she'd been denied. It was exhilarating to interact with them now, and Persephone mused on why her immortal counterparts did not do so themselves for these two brave souls before her were beyond her level of heroic. 

 

 

_Children are so sweet when they are sleeping._

Persephone smiled slightly at the soft snorting snores and the slight hiccupping laughter of the two children under her care while holding in a small giggle at how innocently sweet they looked in the morning light. While Hazel seemed to be the picture of bliss - it seemed her brother was more like the picture of a disgruntled troll as they took their well-deserved rest. The girl was sprawled out and cuddling the corner of her blanket, obviously enraptured in a good dream, as she giggled quietly to herself. In comparison, Nico seemed to be more rigid as he had curled himself up in a ball to protect himself from the horrors of the world but he still kept his childlike innocence with the pig like snores that erupted ever so often to Persephone's amusement. A metaphorical personification of their own reactions to the world with Nico withdrawing so as not to be harmed and Hazel reaching out to pull people she loved closer to her; and they looked adorable while doing it.

How Persephone wished she could have that peace right now; but her marital problems had kept her mind depressingly awake and mercurial at best. How to proceed from here plagued her mind as she kept replaying the look on her husband's face when his cock grazed her inner thighs as he made the fatal mistake of using his wife's body to fuck his beloved Maria Di Angelo. She could ask for couples counselling as they so often had done in the past when a problem arose in their marriage but she feared it was too late for that because nothing could erase the agony of that crucial moment both sexually and emotionally. She had been left denied of her dignity, her pleasure and her rightful place in her marital bed - a slight that required more serious action. Divorce it seemed was the likely scenario; a terrifying prospect for it opened her up to the aggressive affections of others which married life had sheltered her from along with the possibility of being killed or worse by her own husband when she was forced back into the underworld by those damned pomegranate seeds for shaming him. Themis, her father's second Titaness wife, had told her of the many times she'd almost be set upon and violated by hounding suitors after Zeus had discarded her - only surviving because of her terrifying offspring were the Fates which had scared her prospective rapists away. She spoke of how terrified she was when Zeus had commanded her to agree to the separation and to give up her position as Queen. How he spoke coldly to her as if he had not once loved her with his Master Bolt gripped tight as incentive to do whatever he wished. Persephone knew her position without her husband's influence was weak as the forgotten daughter of the King and Goddess of Springtime - one of the reasons why she had cultivated many friendships with other Pantheons was to rectify that failing.

But what else could she do? Allow herself to be used as an object for her husband to pretend fuck his dead mistress? Continue on with this shameful charade until the broken shards of her heart finally bled her dry of feeling and leave her a soulless shell of what she was? No; her pride would not allow that nor would she ever forgive her husband for thinking she would live with anything less than what she deserved. Persephone cringed at the idea of having to face Hera again when the Council convened for the Solstice - how she would be angered at the breaking of a marriage she herself had blessed - so she could obtain her divine dissolution from the Queen of the skies. She would have to endure the stares, of course, of her fellow immortals in their inevitable confusion, amusement and lust. Who would not want to try a little of the warmth of a former Queen's thighs to see just how her former husband was missing? No doubt Poseidon would try something - the vulgar bastard had always lusted after her during her maiden years so he could see just how pretty her flower could bloom and he was often very difficult to allude - and her mother ... well her mother would never let her live it down how right she was never to marry a man like Hades. Demeter would have to be avoided for a couple of centuries for that very reason so Persephone hoped she would be able to find sanctuary among her other immortal friends. Hestia and Hecate were the obvious choices for that matter; they had often been of great comfort when the prospect of her husband's infidelities had broken her in the early days of her marriage.

In regards to that; Hestia had shown restraint, thankfully, in questioning her earlier and had merely decided to await the coming day for any in depth investigations when she wasn't so exhausted with the winter workload of keeping the hearths lit despite the chill in the air. She dreaded that fated moment when she would have to admit to yesterday's humiliating events. To say that your own husband, who vowed fidelity and loyalty to you, had attempted to breathe life into his dead mistress during reconciliation sex wasn't exactly something you could do in polite company like her Maiden friend. So instead she had simply asked her for some favours that would speed along her new charges' recovery, such as getting Hephaestus to create some bigger on the inside closets (she'd seen some British guy on the mortal TV have something to its like a while back and had immediately demanded the same for her private chambers in the Underworld) in exchange for her mother's cookie recipe which should feel like a betrayal as Demeter was highly secretive over that detail but Hephaestus could be trust with it. After that she asked for a personal favour by Hestia to create a second enchanted snake bracelet for Hazel made of silver with emerald eyes as a way of reconciliation and protection like the Ipod was to Nico, which she agreed to do once the Goddess promised not to let the Demigod misuse it and would deliver it for Hazel as soon as possible. Finally she then asked if she could contact Hecate and have her drop round tomorrow night with the request she would look into having the Pomegranate seeds curse removed; a message that was delivered by Hestia instead of Persephone herself because in her pre-divorce phase she wasn't wanting to take the risk of getting intoxicated with the pain of her situation and then drunkenly sleeping with her best friend and thus making every interaction with her immensely awkward and shameful because she deserved more than that.

Seductively beautiful Hecate; Persephone's most truest friend, confidant and frustration. At first Persephone couldn't stand the bitchy witch because of her ratting out her location to Demeter on Persephone's location forcing her to consume the pomegranate seeds as a last measure to ensure Hades had become her husband but as time went by they became more familiar - though they both could argue to the sun went down and came back up again such was their stubbornness and pride at being right. Then Tartarus happened and suddenly Hecate was her best friend and protector, gaining a reputation for putting herself at risk no matter how many times Persephone had told her not to in order to preserve her honour. She couldn't remember how many times she had to literally cross swords with the woman to prevent her from killing the odd mortal or minor God who made passing unfriendly or too friendly remarks at her but it was definitely in the high hundreds. But nothing really happened after that; until of course Madame De Pompadour's passing.

Persephone remembered the night her feelings towards the Goddess changed from platonic friends to something more. It was a Thursday, three months after the death of the Madame, on the hottest day in July that she had ever experienced in France when she ventured into the rural countryside to a remote lake heated by an underground hot spring in the outer parts of the French countryside that the Goddesses of Olympus had favoured when the flame of the West was still within French borders. She had arrived at the springs in the early hours of the morning by horseback, and had been enchanted by the calming atmosphere of the lake with the twin image of the bright, full moon rested tranquilly on the middle of the small, dark blue lake capturing her grief-stricken soul. The leaves of the trees danced elegantly as a soft breeze blew by as she remembered making her way to the edge of the lake and dropped to her knees. She had scooped some water into her cupped hands and splashed it onto her head, shuddering as the cold water came in contact with her heated flesh, running down her head, face, and neck just like the Madame's kisses had done all those months ago before she had passed away without warning. She remembered shaking her head to clear the morose thought from her mind and debating whether to throw herself into the lake with clothes on and all in order to cool down her heated blood from the summer weather. She had sat on her hunches while this was happening, as her eyes had drawn to the strange sight of something resting on the edge of the water near her caught her eye. She had grabbed the object and realized it was a bar of soap after that. _Strange,_ she had thought as she had turned the wet soap over, _Where did this come from?_

Then she had been startled by a small movement in the calm lake caught her attention as she looked over at the water, squinting. A person's head had emerged from the lake, not realizing she was there. Persephone's eyes had widened and her mouth fell open once she recognized who it was. Hecate had been playing with her hair that she had placed over her shoulder, covering her chest. She was in the middle of the small lake and in the centre of the moon's reflection. Her wet hair and skin gleamed under the moon's soft light, making her look ethereally beautiful. She was humming a sweet melody as she caressed her wet hair. She had known it was inappropriate from him to be there, staring. She had known that she should respect her friend's privacy and should have gone off to wait for the other Goddess to finish. She had known she shouldn't have been thinking about another so close after the loss of her dearest love, but she couldn't. Her body could not seem to obey her commands to leave the place. She was too mesmerized by the enchanting yet oblivious woman before herm. She remembered feeling her thighs twitch and her palms sweat as she fantasied about the woman before her - of running up and kissing her sweet lips, of brushing her hair into smooth ringlets, of holding her pretty body in her arms while she sucked and caressed her body into completion. Then; Hecate seemed to sense something and Persephone actually turned herself into a lily pad in fear of noticed - staying there long after the woman left because her mind was still processing the deep seated desire she had begun to possess for the witch. Ever since; she had been careful not to touch the woman in fear of combusting into flames with desire for she knew that her husband was distant and taking another woman to bed as the Madame had been was too painful to consider for it felt like a betrayal to love a woman after losing her soulmate and fears of her husband's refusal to grant a similar arrangement with the Goddess had prevented her from voicing her lust for her though they had remained as friends.

Hecate could definitely help her out with the whole pomegranate thing as she knew the underworld's magic better than anyone and when her mother had demanded before for a solution to the shared living situation - Persephone had thought to see a little glimmer of hesitation that seemed to be indicative of her concealing a possible way out from her smothering mother. Hopefully she would be able to find out for sure the following night while her charges were distracted by other matters. Charges. Persephone couldn't hide the happy smile that the word gave to her; she finally had someone to tend to other than her ungrateful husband or the citizens of the underworld who'd didn't have much emotion to spare. The only living thing who'd she been able to shower with affection so far had been Adonis (a saddening tale of a past attempt at motherhood that had left her heartbroken and her reputation almost in shambles after Aphrodite spread the false rumour that she had slept with the boy she wanted so badly to call son - something Persephone categorically denied because the only thing that happened between them was a mistaken kiss that Adonis had placed on her that she had quickly stopped as she did not feel that way towards a boy who she knew as a son) and Cerberus (though she doubted their weekly walks would be possible if she went ahead with divorcing his owner). Maybe she could demand the pup as part of the settlement, that would be a great comfort.

The early morning rays of light from the slightly ajar door drew Persephone's attention as she noted the growing need to wake the children from their deep slumber. In the night, Nico had twice woke in utter terror and it was through the combined effort of herself and Hazel that they were able to talk him down to quiet rocking on the floor until he eventually drifted back off to sleep thankfully. The consequence was that although Persephone really wanted to get a fresh start on the day with minimal interaction with the rest of the campers so that Nico wouldn't start to feel uncomfortable again - she just couldn't force herself to wake them up after finally getting them settled. Particularly since they were just so cute with their little noises and twitching noses every time they got annoyed at something in their dream worlds like baby rabbits.

Maternal and amused feelings aside; they really needed to get up so taking a deep breath - Persephone stood from her place next to the fireplace where little Hestia lay curled up in the ashes like a tiny, grey eeyore onesie wearing, dragon with big puffing cheeks that just ached to be pinched. She knew the consequences, however, for waking a tired, fireplace hogging, Goddess however was most likely a very disappointed pout or a loose brick to the face so she avoided the temptation of tempting fate for a simple squeeze of those apple sized globes. She stretched thoroughly, waking her tired joints, before quickly conjuring some mugs and saucers out of nothingness with a lazy twist of the wrist. Then she prepared herself mentally for the day as she hid the grief and sadness over her own life away in the darkest depths of her mind so as to not worry the children she'd sworn to protect and make whole. For a moment she debated whether to give her half-blood step children with serious ADHD disorders something so stimulating as organically and sustainably grown fresh coffee but given the fact that she'd rather them hopped up on caffeine than dragging their feet because they were so behind on getting ready it was ridiculous. She quickly concluded then that just this one time it could be forgiven so she conjured a sweet Hazelnut Cafe au lait in the Parisian style for Hazel as she softly shook the girl out of her slumber.

A sleepy smile awaited her as the girl yawned so hard her jaw must have fallen off as she stretched herself on the bed like a giant feral cat that Cerberus often chased on their walks together as a mortal woman through the streets of Manhattan and what probably looked to mortals like an oversized Rottweiler with a pink rhinestone collar (the handsome pup took a shine to it in the shop one day and was decent enough to let Persephone equip it in a way that all three heads could share it - at least when Hades wasn't looking). A few joints clicked to Persephone's worry before the girl looked over at the small mug being offered. "T'ank you!" a sleepy reply came as she took a large sip and shuddered at the sudden intake of sugar. It seemed to do the job though because in the next few moments Hazel was in the bathroom with a pile of clothes that Persephone had compiled last night thanks to the Celtic Goddess of Beauty, Cliodhna or Cleo for short, doing her a quick solid before setting to work preparing for their later visit. Truthfully, the Goddess sounded a little too over enthusiastic over their Celtic Knot Communication (or CKC as they called it in their Pantheon, a method of using a piece of fabric manipulated into said knot that if held up and activated with some Celtic chanting - would enable easy to use communication anywhere in the American Eastern Seaboard) which made Persephone feel nervous that today might get a little too much for the children since Cleo was often too talkative for her own good. Hopefully she would behave and the Goddesses could get their work done without too much fuss.

Then came the hardest task; waking the beast that was a sleep deprived Nico Di Angelo before noon. Honestly there was several ways to do it which came to mind from air horns, to getting Cerberus to sit on him, or maybe even getting a full orchestra to wake him up with some loud Beethoven on repeat but she resisted the urges that would have been so easy in the past when they were at each other's throats and instead simply started singing the Andrew's Sister' 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' as softly as she could as a nod to his wartime origins and because she enjoyed the catchy beat and finger snapping melody of the piece. "He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way. He had a boogie style that no one else could play. He was the top man at his craft but then his number came up, and he was gone with the draft. He's in the army now, a-blowin' reveille, he's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B!" she sang happily as Nico groaned in annoyance but Persephone was inwardly pleased to see him smile secretly at the playful wake up call. The boy rubbed his eyes lazily and looked like he was about to go back to sleep - something Persephone just couldn't allow - so she kept singing along to the showtune until eventually she got him to get up from his hovel.

"Alright, alright, I'm up!" the boy mumbled but today was a new day for all of them and that meant no one was allowed to be a grumpy pants. So, taking the risk of a brick to the head from her fiery immortally lazy friend, she kept belting out the lyrics to Nico's continued annoyance till even he was muttering along and tapping a slight rhythm on the corners of the bed as he made it to Persephone's joy. Eventually, with a little shoulder prodding, he actually began to sing along loudly while slightly laughing at her making a complete show of it - complete with hand gestures, finger clicking, and even a cheeky shimmy - as she was determined to make him smile. They even got a little ditty from Hazel from her place within the echoing walls of the bathroom as she started to jam out too with a slightly flat rendition that made both Persephone and Nico break down in laughter at its ridiculousness. Overall it was a pretty good start to the day as Nico quietly sipped his small cup of Italian style Expresso and Hazel finished up with her shower time.

Hestia had even started to wake up, to Nico's amazement at her childish fashion choice, as she too took a sip of her own breakfast refreshment of sweet Nectar with a tinge of mint that she'd grown accustomed to before heading outside to soak up the rays of the sun. That girl was more cat than God at times, lazing about in warm places and occasionally knocking over things just to be annoying; though she was sweet and pretty enough to get away with it even while wearing her favourite Winnie the Pooh themed pyjamas. Dionysus had introduced her to the Winnie the Pooh world a few years back and so far the Goddess was completely obsessed with the depressed ass who'd earned a special place of honour in Hestia's mind thanks to the character being one of Hestia's favoured creatures and being adorably negative like Hestia could be if she hadn't slept enough or if someone stole from her sweet supply. The myth of Hestia being this neutral character who wouldn't fight someone wasn't exactly true when you find yourself being hunted down by a snicker's crazed immortal girl with a bread knife and a slinky as one God of War had unfortunately found out. 

Eventually, Hazel emerged in her new clothes and the distance was instantly noticeable from the hysterical girl of yesterday. The slightly torn and dirty Camp Jupiter purple shirt and noticeably ill-fitting jeans had been replaced with an outfit designed specifically to reflect the girl's beautifully dark skin tone. "I went with a casual yet fashionably fierce theme with this look!" she explained as Hazel looked slightly uncomfortable in the new getup. "While you look absolutely fantastic in purple; I thought that a beautiful emerald green palette offset with black and earthy toned colours would get your skin to both glow and also makes you more in-tune with nature and therefore more natural in tone. The black riding boots are from 'Ralph Lauren' since I know you are an accomplished equestrian and they provide the most comfort while walking yet still provides the height you need to gain an advantage in an argument while the black skinny jeans are from 'Levi Strauss & Co' to make you feel more relaxed and casual. With regards to the top half of the outfit; I thought that you might enjoy the loose and lightweight emerald green flutter top I sourced from 'Opening Ceremony' that is made from ethically sourced cotton. The flutter brings to mind the flapper dresses of the 1920s when you were born while the Green brings out your eyes perfectly. Nice and slimming yet organic in nature and not over-the-top, what do you think?" she asked nervously at Hazel's reaction. Truly, she thought that it was almost painful not to add jewellery or anything too ostentatious but the pricey designer brands helped with her fashion agony as Hazel looked at herself in the cabin window's reflection in wonder.

"It's pretty, like not trying too hard, but still quite new and bold. I like it!" she smiled as she moved towards the Goddess to hug her in thanks. Hazel had obviously washed it during her time in the bathroom as Persephone could smell a faint scent of blueberries from Hazel's shampoo when the girl rested her head under the woman's head. She smiled relieved at the reaction before calmly retrieving the rapidly cooling coffee Hazel had placed on her bedside so the girl wouldn't lose this morning bliss to exhaustion. A noticeable blush had spread nicely down her charge's face as she took the mug to sip sweetly at the drink with her ears nearly turning a bright tomato colour in time.

"Now, you!" she announced as she hurried a dazed and slightly apprehensive Nico inside the bathroom with what she hoped would be the instrument to a serious ego boost when everyone spotted it. Time for some girl talk, Persephone mused as she turned to the still self-conscious Hazel Levesque with a confident smile. Right, just one last thing to boost this girl's confidence up as much as outward appearances could allow. Persephone quickly wandered over to the door where she'd hung the finishing details of the children's clothes and passed over to Hazel the two items hidden there for the girl to model. First; a practical looking dark green leather jacket that reached the upper thigh and hugged Hazel's curves just right with a silver zipper running straight up the chest line and high royal looking collar that would ensure maximum strength and badassery in the garment. The other item was an authentic Gucci Hobo bag to put her things in made of the same coloured fabric as the leather jacket with a Gucci engraved barrel clasp and lined in cream fabric hiding the lightweight bronze shielding with one side zippered pocket and two slip pockets. Persephone had thought that it would be the right style for the general practicality of the outfit in its size but also as a means of establishing power through pricey designer labels that spoke volumes as to their prestige. Both items were from a Persephone's own private closet in Washington where she hid a large stash of accessories to use as collateral if she ever needed it. Now that she was on the verge of divorce; having a trove of potential sources of income would be instrumental in gaining her financial independence from her soon to be ex-husband.

"I can't take this! A Nigra like me would be hunted down for wearing anything that flashy!" Hazel spoke up as she realised the intention Persephone was getting at. Persephone winced at the now outdated name that many now would call offensive and impolite; having personal experience with such things thanks to her own dark skin back in the early days when the Olympians first moved to the Americas. It wasn't like she could just change herself like the rest of the Goddesses could as the notions of race came about; Persephone's skin was a fixed point in her appearance thanks to her raw connection to the earth and soil so she'd faced a lot of problems when segregation started up to the point of not really wanting to walk among the mortals and instead spending time with her mother where no one would look at her weirdly or patronise her mistakenly. Though she did enjoy turning the more rougher ones into parrots or baby bats and selling them to pet shops once in a while.

"First of all; in the present I can assure you that women of colour are perfectly alright to wear whatever the hell they want and if anyone tries to talk to you like you can't then just give them a good old smack in the head to reset their minds back to the twenty-first century. There are still problems for black women like you and me but I assure you that no one should or could stop you from being as powerful in whatever you want to wear. Secondly; it is a gift from me to you; because every strong woman knows that they need battle armour if they are facing an enemy they can't flat out kill like bigoted morons. The leather is enchanted to be resistant to damage and the bag is lined in bronze so any electronics you put in there won't make the monsters around you aware of your presence. Just give it a try!" Persephone motioned as Hazel hesitantly put on the jacket and somehow grew in height and confidence thanks to the power a leather jacket can give a girl. In its entirety; the outfit was strong, bold and confident just like its wearer and Persephone was proud to add just a hint of confidence back to the girl who'd basically broken down horrifically just a few short hours ago or had thought that the colour of her skin was a block to doing anything she wanted. Hazel looked at herself in the reflection of the glass windows of the cabin, slightly doubting herself, but still she thanked Persephone for the gifts and wore them quietly and by and by more and more proudly. "Now; tell me is there anything else you are worried about?" she asked, curious if she could help mend Hazel's inner turmoil as she was trying with Nico.

"I ... I ... It's just so difficult!" Hazel collapsed down on the corner of the closest bed as she let go of the worries she'd been carrying so long. "I just get so confused all the time and everyone just looks at me like I'm this ... this idiot! I don't come from this time and everyone tries to forget it but its so difficult sometimes to remember things are different now. I freeze up every time I have to enter a public place because I'm scared of being rejected out of it as it's a 'white' area ... or the time when I tried to visit the hospital to visit Nico and I embarrassed myself like a fool after asking after the 'coloured' area and everyone just stared at me till I went away. I nearly fainted when I saw the Aphrodite girls for the first time! There was so much skin on show and they didn't even act like it bothered them like that was normal to show practically everything and walk around half nude. When I first sat in on a Council meeting, there was voting and I got called out for not doing it and everyone seemed to be annoyed at me like I should know that I was allowed to do that. I can't ask questions because then people just start to whisper how dumb I must be not to have learned everything by now or they explain in a way that's just so patronising as if I didn't already feel bad enough. I know Frank hates me for it because I can't shake the feeling that if we kiss or hold hands in public then some white guy is going to start screaming sermons on me about how 'nigra women are sinful' and how we are 'only good for breeding young 'uns' with our own kind'. Then there's Nico ... my big and brave brother who has always been there for me but when he needs me ... I just freeze up or I don't understand. He is my big brother but I keep failing him again and again ... like yesterday. I should know how to help him, know how to make him feel better about himself, but I have absolutely no idea how to do that! I don't know how to act at times ... should I make a joke or should I tell him something inspiring; I don't know! I don't know anything, I'm just a stupid girl who can't ... who won't ... whose just so useless!" she broke off into sobs as she hid her eyes in her hands and began to rock back and forth in frustration and sorrow. Persephone pulled her into a close embrace, allowing her the time she needed to cry, as she stroked her hair reassuringly. She considered the two broken children in her charge from broken pasts from broken families who desperately needed help to mend themselves back together again. She didn't know how to fix them, she had no training in such things nor did she have much experience looking after them, but damn it if she wasn't going to at least try.

"Listen to me if you can, Hazel Levesque!" she murmured quietly as the girl nestled herself into the embrace, "I know you don't know me too well and that you feel at odds with your surrounding but let me just get one thing clear. You are an incredibly powerful black woman who has no need for other's opinions about herself because your opinion is the only thing that matters. When you lived in the 1920s; you were looked down on for the colour of your skin because of the time you were living in made you feel lesser than or not as important as others. Now there is greater manoeuvrability and greater acceptance of all people regardless of race; not completely but enough that you don't have to live in fear of it. Don't wear the history of your past like shackles, rather as armour displayed proudly so everyone knows the battles you've face and the ones you are prepared to still fight. You survived through a time of turmoil and hatred, be proud of it and let it be known that you are stronger than what everyone else thinks you are! Sure, it will be difficult and you most likely will have to wade through the filth of the very worst of humanity at times but you have so many others who just want to support and respect you for who you are. You have fought Giants, you gave your life to stop the apocalypse, you chose eternal limbo to save your mother, you have powers many can only dream of thanks to your magic - so believe me when I say that you are strong. You are a survivor, and you have plenty to give before you end up back in the dirt so don't ever let yourself forget it!" Persephone listened to her breath in the power of her words. Every single one of them was true; this mere slip of a girl had survived the unimaginable and should be proud of it. She could never be useless or stupid or foolish or dumb because everything she had gone through had always and always would prove her otherwise.

"Thank-you!" her voice cracked as she raised her head up to meet the Goddess' eyes with puffy eyes and shaking lips. Persephone smiled before letting go of the girl slowly so she could find her own strength on her own terms. She brought her hand up to brush away in-spilled tears and carefully re-arranged her hair so to fix its mussed appearance. She then snapped her fingers to bring a small wad of tissue for Hazel to blow her nose on before pulling the girl to her feet as the door to the bathroom opened to reveal the new version of Nico Di Angelo.

Wow. That was all Persephone could muster at the sight of her stepson stepping out of the room with nervous eyes and twitching hands. The broken boy from before with ratty Camp Half-blood shirt and a head full of worries had been replaced with, to Persephone's mind, a triumph of fashion that highlighted every good characteristic that his mother's Italian heritage possessed. She stood up and moved to the side of him so as to explain her method in choosing each piece of the outfit in turn so that Nico would feel more comfortable in his own skin. "As you can see; the look here was about practicality, durability and ease of movement while also showing off Nico's more admirable qualities. The shoes are hard wearing and meant for rugged terrain, with genuine leather and comfortable sheep fleece lining for strength and warmth in challenging environments. Tan leather on the outside is perfect for water proofing, with well made laces that won't thread and with a lot of versatility for both urban and rural environments. Then we get onto the jeans which are dark navy and skinny fitted to highlight the calf muscles and thighs. After that we look at the top half which I've made to be all about layers since you have a low body fat ratio and I want you to be able to survive colder and harsher environments. The first being an ordinary white cotton T-shirt with a round neckline, the next is a dark navy plaid flannel that brings a little extra colour to the palette and finally the bomber jacket which brings a little familiarity to the whole get up. The sheep fleece inside is the same as the one in the shoes and comes from a prize winning ram from Aristaeus' own private flock - enchanted to bring warmth, comfort and peaceful thoughts to its owner. The tanned leather is directly sourced from Apollo's own sacred cattle as I have a deal to provide him with rubies for his girlfriends meaning that it won't tear easily from combat or exploration. The style of the jacket is old time aviator reminiscent of Amelia Earhart (still pissed about her death) and the flyers of old, which is good because from what I see you pull it off quite nicely. The fit is perfect, not being too tight or too loose around the ribbed hem and not too long since its cropped just at the waistband of the jeans as its supposed to. The effect is it creates a flattering silhouette, accentuating his shoulders and creating the illusion of height by elongating his legs because I see your pretty self-conscious about it. Also I'd like to note the warmth the navy of the flannel and jeans brings to the entire outfit as well as using it as a replacement for your signature colour of black - making you more approachable and casual while at the same time respecting your want for a palette that's sombre to reflect the personality of its wearer. So voila!"

Hazel clapped slightly at the explanation, smiling despite her earlier state as she took in the many details that made the simple outfit so uniquely Nico Di Angelo. Now that she looked at it critically, she could see how simplistic and similar it was to Nico's normal outfit but still had a few adjustments that Persephone hoped wouldn't make him dislike or distrust her. Nico himself seemed more settled after the explanation as he stood a little less rigid than before; as he studied the hem work on the sleeves with interest. "Well; I don't know about you Nico but I can guarantee that it looks fantastic and that you'll be beating the girls off with a stick when they see you looking that dapper!" Hazel chimed in as she hurried to her bedside table to pack a few essentials for the road. Nico smiled gratefully at her for a moment at the reassurance but his frown re-emerged when her back was turned - girls, she'd said. He wasn't out to his sister and that was obviously had caused some tension within him as she believed that he would be a lot happier to be open with his sibling but the 1930s had deeply traumatised him with its blatant homophobia making him expect rejection and derision for something he couldn't change. They would have to work on that; Persephone judged quickly before striding over to fix the mop of hair that had almost completely obscured the boy's vision.

"Honestly, how have you not walked into a door with hair this long?" she grumbled as she tried to make the mass stay flat - giving up after the fourth trial thanks to frustration and Nico's snarky under the breath remarks about how even his hair was as uncooperative as he was to his sister's chortled laughter. "Now; I know you are both nervous about the potential fallout of yesterday's events," Persephone spoke up seriously, "As you most likely are aware; people fear what they do not understand or know about. I will not lie, most of the Camp has by now heard a tall tail or two about what happened so it is very likely that most will have questions or suspicions regarding it. There will be whispers, gossip and speculation - but I advise you to disregard most of it as idle lies made up by bored or insecure people who think making up falsehoods will gain them popularity. Remember that most of them have never actually met either of you and that no one knows the full story of what has happened to either of you as a result. You at both strong children of Hades/Pluto and you have saved this Camp and New Rome multiple times; you have no need to feel ashamed about who you are. Now; heads high, shoulders squared and think 'murder' and you'll do great!" Persephone counselled as she snapped her fingers to change her clothes from yesterday's yellow and white innocence to a new and more personal combination.

The look started with a beautiful daffodil yellow Italian Balmain's pre-fall 2015 collection trench coat. The coat was perfectly feminine with its single button fastening and flounced ruffle lapels that added a little style to the piece. Her actual outfit was a recreation of a dress she'd once seen in one of the mortal movies called 'Titanic' from a scene where the plucky damsel is forced to escape the inevitable ice cold water but spruced up a little to make it more contemporary and practical with yellows, blacks and whites instead of lilacs, whites and pinks. The basic design of an empire waisted chiffon and lace yellow, white and black gown was kept but the hem line was shortened to just above the knee so she wouldn't have to deal with a full length skirt and the lace design on the chest was floral sunflowers rather than geometric to illustrate her position as Goddess of the Springtime. This was beautifully paired with a Ralph and Russo Eden heeled soft yellow and white lace pumps with golden ornamental filigree rose stems and thorns along the heal and sides for a truly feminine but fierce design that Persephone was sure was going to make her heels ache in the end of the busy schedule she had planned but she was prepared to sacrifice comfort for fashion if it meant that the overall look was cute. Hey if she was going to be divorced soon, she might as well wear as much colour as she could with as much flair as could be allowed and the soft pink really contrasted well against her skin tone.

After all; they had to put on a show if they were to become more respected as affluent members of society; and as a soon-to-be divorcee - Persephone was going to get her full money's worth of Hade's credit cards before she was done with him.

 

Persephone is sitting by the fire where Hestia has curled up and is sketching plans to create a new home like her own cabin for the children by the use of a bubble universe and has already created a blueprint for a preliminary try at making a closet for both of them to use to be developed upon later. She thinks about the night before with Nico's night terrors and having to stop Hazel from transforming by using scent markers (Nico's deodorant) to calm her down and a wolfsbane tonic to relieve the symptoms. She then is forced to wake the children in order to arrive at the 'Lucky Shoe' store on time which she does with a wolfsbane laced choc au latte coffee and Nico with a cappuccino with a side of white chocolate biscotti for both and bugle boy from company B as a wake-up song. She then explains her fashion choices for the both of them before giving Hazel a leather jacket and explaining that Armor is needed for the days ahead. She then talks to the children plainly about what they need to do going forward is to be difficult but necessary, so they must put on a show to gain what they want: respect, confidence and love. She is asked by Hazel to borrow a piece of parchment and a calligraphy pen while she uses an old copy of 'Shakespeare's sonnets' in Ancient Greek that was on her bedside table to write a break-up letter to Frank out of shame and guilt for attacking him and for the words she had said accompanied with a crystallised white Calla lily that she ties together with a length of black ribbon. There is obvious tension in the girl as she covers the bruises left from Frank holding onto her on her arms and waist with her long-sleeved top and the jacket to ensure Nico doesn't see them and freak out. They exit the cabin to find a beautiful bouquet of black calla lilies on the doorstep, but Persephone simply puts them into the torch flame as she thinks they are from Hades which gives Hazel the idea of the crystal lily.


	7. POV - Nico 2

**_Falling Down and Getting back up:_ **

**_By R. L. Collins_ **

* * *

_Thank the Gods for lazy Campers._

Nico had been nervous about appearing in public after yesterday but thankfully they had managed to get to breakfast quite early so most of the campers were not yet seated at the long rows of picnic tables draped in white and purple cloth. The only inhabitants of the dining Pavilion was an exhausted looked Reyna crouched over a pile of paperwork and Clovis from the Hypnos Cabin who was slumped over in the corner with a Mr Men pillow under him and a fluffy blanket cast over his prone body. Nico smiled slightly at seeing the Praetor of the Romans who was more like a sister to Nico than a friend, before frowning at her obviously frazzled state in worry. It was just like Reyna to drive herself to the edge working her ass off to take care of her people without realising the toll it was taking on her own body; a trait Nico admitted applied to him as well.

"Reyna!" he called quietly as he strode over to the Ares Cabin's table - no doubt a compromise to the fact that her mother Bellona had no Roman equivalent so the Greeks would have to accommodate her with Bellona's twin brother Mars/Ares - which caused the normally stoic girl to jump in surprise (another sign of her terrible condition since Reyna normally sensed when people were near her).

"Nico?" Reyna asked with a face of pure shock as her eyes drifted over his newly gifted change of clothes. Nico's hand twitched as he fought the urge to shrink into the shadows to avoid her inspecting gaze, keeping his eyes centred on hers and swallowing back his nervousness over getting her approval on the changes Persephone had done to his usually monochrome clothes. She smiled in amazement as she opened her mouth again; "You look amazing! Did the Lady Proserpine ... I mean Persephone ... do this because its definitely a good look for you. Look you even got back your jacket, and the flannel definitely was a good choice for you!"

Nico looked down at the ground to hide his deepening blush at her words. Did she really think he looked that good? Nico admitted that his old look was a far cry less about looking good and more about scrounging up something just to keep out the cold. The loss of his favourite aviator jacket was a deep personal loss to him because of its history but the new one was definitely an improvement with its powerful enchantments and soft fleece insides that Nico wanted to just curl up in. The blue flannel and the jeans were different from his normal black but it was dark enough that it wasn't as jarring as it could have been. For so long, Nico had taken to wearing black as a way of mourning for Bianca and a way to not attract attention from people who were always trying to either kill, avoid, or aggravate him, but he had to admit the navy was a good change for him as a reminder to live in the moment. The extra layers also helped him conceal any physical weaknesses from onlookers like the werewolf scratches that permanently scared his upper arms or his generally thin frame from his poor diet so that was handy if he wanted Will Solace to stop fussing every time he saw him. Nico's mind stuttered at the thought of the Doctor as he considered the reaction he might get from him from the change in clothes, would he look as impressed as Reyna did or would he think that Nico was trying too hard and ground him again in the infirmary so he could mother him to death. "Thank-you!" he muttered shyly as he tried to think of something to say.

"Nico!" a call came from the side of him, Hazel's call Nico recognised, as she waved him and Reyna over. Nico quickly helped her sort out and pick up the stack of official look Camp Jupiter letters that she had been working on; letters of sympathy it seemed to the relatives of those who had perished in the War. No wonder she looked exhausted if she had been working on trying to find the right words to inform a family that their loved one wasn't going to come home to them again. Reyna smiled slightly with a weary kind of effort as she walked beside him to where Hazel and Persephone were standing. "Forgot to mention that because there's so many Romans here in camp; I gave up our table along with Percy and Jason for morning breakfasts so no one has to sit on the floor while we have a whole place to ourselves. Normally I just eat breakfast in the Recreation Room across the courtyard because its too loud out in the Pavilion, so I was wondering if you'd like to sit in there because its nice and quiet and there's no Hermes kids trying to prank you every twenty seconds. You can come too Reyna, you look like you could use some company!" Hazel stated cheerfully as she balanced two trays of breakfast things on each arm like a waitress. Nico felt a wave of relief at the prospect of eating away from curious eyes as well as pride for his sister's generosity towards the Roman.

"Sure; want me to help you with those?" he gestured to the trays politely as he noticed the small wobble in her hands at holding the heavy boards. She had been doing ever since yesterday, as if all of her energy had been taken away and she was running on her reserves, and Nico felt increasingly guilty for it as he was sure him disappearing off must have scared her by the look of her face when Persephone escorted him back last night.

"Nah, me and 'Seph can handle it! You just bring your gloomy arse and we'll be fine!" she joked as she shifted their weight slightly, causing a faint clattering sound as plates moved slightly at the movement. Nico rolled his eyes at the comment, inwardly happy that his sister felt close enough to him to talk that way to him, as he ignored her comment as he reached over to help her anyway. No way was he going to let her get in trouble with the cleaning harpies about broken plates because his sister was too stubborn to accept help. Hazel wrinkled her nose in annoyance with an adorable pout that made her look even more funny in Nico's mind and in a spell of playfulness and spurred on by the lack of strangers in the room - he mockingly stuck out his tongue in a childish taunt.

Reyna laughed by his side as she tucked the stack of letters under her arm before her face turned serious. "Are you sure you want me to join you? I'm not exactly full of energy or good vibes at the moment!" she asked with a doubting expression that the two siblings quickly and silently decided wasn't acceptable. Reyna looked oddly just as terrible as Nico was; with the same haunted look to her eyes and a pronounced amount of darkish bags under her eyes from a lack of sleep and comfort. The consequence of trying to restore calm to her people and get them back into their home territory while also dealing with the injured and dead soldiers from the War - many of which Reyna knew personally. Her normally impressive frame sagged under the wait of all those possibilities and as a child of Hades Nico knew when a person looked like hell because he had been there both metaphorically and literally. She needed friends who would be brave enough to make her admit her own pitiful condition and who would help her to recover from the sorrows of War; and the children of Hades and Pluto were now definitely on her side.

"That's precisely why we want you there; besides you look like you could use the company so follow me!" Hazel spoke cheerfully as she led us towards the Recreation room with a look that dared Reyna to refuse. Nico, on his part, simply fell into step alongside Persephone and Reyna as they travelled the small distance to get to our destination. It was comforting to feel close to both of them; two strong and powerful influences who had both given him a sympathetic ear and a new take on life with Reyna preaching acceptance while Persephone vowed healing and protecting him as reward for his forgiveness. Truly, he was grateful for their friendship because now at least there was a faint sliver of hope within him which should have been beaten out of him by now but thanks to their gentle encouragement - it now seemed to take root in their kind affection for him - but there was also a slight annoyance to it in that both of them refused to practice what they preached. Obviously Reyna didn't care for other's opinions of her outwardly but Nico could sense that it deeply affected her to be seen as not being enough for her own people when she inevitably made mistakes or accidentally neglected some part of her duties. Thus; this walking state of exhaustion that even a zombie would be concerned about and don't get him started on Persephone. It was quite obvious to him now that she was half-way to falling apart herself over something ... something that had happened recently that had deeply left her scared and confused as to her place in the world. If she would only talk about it, hell even a slight mention of why she was so upset would be preferable at this point, but instead she just attempted to ignore it or conceal it deep within herself so as not to worry Hazel and him. So stubborn in their ways, so affectionate towards the broken remnants of Nico's own soul, yet so blind as to their own broken natures because they felt the need to protect him and Hazel from further problems.

Nico sighed as his thoughts were interrupted by an incredulous Reyna as she took in the amount of food that Nico and Hazel carried on their respective breakfast trays. "Wow, did you leave anything for the rest of the Camp or are we going to have to fight the entire Mars cabin because I don't think I can take another moment of that Sherman Yang guy's gushing about the new modals of tanks coming out this year and their battlefield benefits if he could convince the Vulcan cabin to chip in to buy one!" she complained loudly as a small yawn overtook her, to her blushing embarrassment. She was right though; it was an awfully large amount of food and Nico wondered if this was part of Persephone's plan to fatten him up and get rid of the sickly green colour to his skin that overtook him when he used his powers too much. Worry clouded his mind as he panicked over how to refuse a Goddess' fussing because he had no doubt in his mind that there was no way he could eat all this by himself because he'd explode!

"Ares was always the loud mouth of us all; I can't tell you how many times me and Hestia have had to physically restrain Athena whenever he complained that her battle plans weren't gory enough. I can't imagine having to room up with his kids, you have my sympathies Praetor Reyna, and no there's plenty of food left for the Camp - but considering you lot are basically bags of bones at this point I'm tempted to just strap you all to a chair to force feed this lot down your stubborn ass throats!" Persephone laughed darkly as she took a comically exaggerated breath of frustration. Nico on his part thought back to his interactions with the Ares Cabin members; and to a certain promise by Clarisse La Rue for a sparring match for the ages. He would have to wait a couple of weeks for his strength to come back but he was intrigued at taking her up on the offer. The elder girl was a formidable warrior in her own right and it would interesting to match blades with her more aggressive fighting traditional Greek style vs his more fluid style that utilised a range of different methods taught to him by the dead masters of old. It would certainly be something to look forward to in the future, if only Clarisse could tear herself away from Gleeson Hodge's new-born son to do it - the girl was seriously committed to her role as Godmother to the boy and everyone at camp knew to watch themselves if ever they were even the slightest bit close to the kid because there was nothing more terrifying than angry maternal Clarisse with a kid in her hip and a sword in her hand.

"It's not so bad I suppose when Frank helps them out since him and Clarisse seem to have adopted each other but last night he wasn't there so it was just a nightmare to even be within earshot of them!" Reyna spoke happily as they reached the Recreation Room, a dour looking room that looked almost dilapidated thanks to the constant use by the campers. Paint on the walls was peeling off and the floors were worn so far down that Nico was happy to be wearing shoes because he was sure if he didn't then he would get a foot full of splinters. Then there was the sweaty frat boy smell that pervaded most of it but then most of Camp smelled like that anyway because of the lines to the shower blocks being so long so he could understand that. Though, because of Nico's experience at crashing at various hostels across America during his darker years, it wasn't that bad. There was pretty much basic furniture with multi-coloured plastic chairs, a few scuffed bar and coffee tables, a Nacho-cheese machine that looked beat up as all hell, and a large ping-pong tables sitting pride of place.

His eyes glazed over the room to find to his surprise a pretty average looking piano with one of those interactive screens where music sheets should be - wasn't Music Night ages ago? Will probably forgot to get his cabin to move it ... he forgets sometimes to even eat when he's working in that infirmary ... Nico should go see him soon. Yes; he should go see him and then ... and then he'll do something stupid and Will won't be able to stop himself from laughing at him and then Nico would probably shadow travel to China in embarrassment. Nope; not going to happen.

His mind moved onto Reyna's words and a particular question stuck in his mind; "Why wasn't Frank there?" he asked curiously as they all removed their jackets to sit down comfortably on the plastic chairs. Was the guy hurt? Nico looked to Hazel and saw ... something wasn't right. There was a look of rage, sorrow and pain that she had quickly hidden but Nico had seen it and his mind saw red as he fought with himself not to stride out of the room and physically drag the Roman down to the Underworld. Hazel was fidgeting like a frightened rabbit, pulling on her jacket sleeve like she was trying her best not to blurt something out. That wasn't good ... but last time he had seen them both together they had seemed happy enough so what happened?

Reyna's reply almost made him blow his top. "Oh he was ... um ... helping Will Solace with the infirmary because a couple of kids got sick ... speaking off is that bacon I see?" she lied as she attempted to hide her near slip up by distracting him. Her words seemed at first like she was about to tell him something until something stopped her in her tracks as she doubled-back on her explanation - with Hazel providing a not-at-all-subtle cough to interrupt her so Nico knew it was serious. What were they hiding, did Frank break his sisters heart or act improper towards her? No, his instincts told him, that wouldn't sound like Frank ... but what did he know - he'd only met the guy a few weeks ago and people can hide their true natures easily enough. Nico resolved to ask Hazel when they were alone again as he didn't want her to use the excuse of other people to lie to him nor did he want to make her uncomfortable.

"Yep; we've got marmalade on toast for Nico with fruit salad and chocolate milk!" Persephone stated as she handed him his plate and fruit cup along with a small plastic cup. His stomach rumbled as he took in the sight of the toast, and he quickly picked up some plastic cutlery off the other tray to get started. "Chocolate chip brioches with a side of fried eggs and bacon for Hazel as well as Cranberry juice because its an absolute lifesaver!" she handed the girl her plates as Hazel quickly began to dig in to the bacon with ravenous fingers, "and finally for you Reyna there's a full American breakfast to keep your strength up since you look a little peaky!" Reyna took hers in turn and began to crunch away on a succulent sausage with gusto. Nico felt Persephone's gaze on him as he looked at the meal in front of him nervously, hoping that he could at last finally eat something without feeling intensely nauseous afterwards. He took a small bite of the bread, hoping his favourite marmalade would help it go down better, but found that it was almost like swallowing sandpaper laced with arsenic. He covered the choking sound he made as his body tried to reject and retch out the offending material but pretend coughing into his napkin and reaching for the milk in hopes that the liquid could help wash it away. The milk was almost ice cube cold, refreshingly so given the growing heat of the summer morning, and Nico quickly developed a strategy of dipping the bread in the milk in order to soften it despite Reyna's obviously grossed out face. Hazel must have thought the idea interesting because the next thing he knew, Persephone was ewwing at the girl's now egg yolk covered chocolate brioche which she was ravenously eating despite the oddness of the action.

It took a little while for the bread to slowly go down his throat so he kept changing it up by alternating between bites of toast and pieces of fruit from the salad. His favourite was the small glazed cherries, followed shortly by the small pieces of apples, but he point blank refused to eat the Kiwi because it looked like snot coloured balls of shit and so he sneakily pushed little pieces of it onto Hazel's plate. She pointedly ignored the little growing mound of snotballs, using her fork instead to keep stealing bits of banana and cherries off him which he tried to fend off with a little fork vs spoon action but quickly conceded because Hazel was pouting too much for him to be legal. Even Reyna got in on the action by stealing by dagger point a few pieces of blueberries when the two were distracted by their cutlery wars; gigging slightly at the siblings antics. Thieves, he was living with barbarous thieves, and he loved it. 

Eventually ever plate was scrapped clean as each of them leaned lazily back in their chairs with satisfied grins on their faces.

Reyna must have been still cautious about dining with an Olympian however as she dutifully arranged the finished plates into an ordered pile before turning to the Goddess with a serious expression on her face. "Thank you Lady Persephone for inviting me to eat at your table!" she stated formally as she nodded respectfully as Nico supposed she'd been taught as Praetor of New Rome.

Persephone smiled kindly to her, whipping out a napkin to stubbornly clean off a small egg stain on a pouting Hazel's face, as she regarded the Roman. "No need to worry about it, Reyna, from what I hear you did your mother proud in the War so its a privilege to help out. Though I am worried; did you get any sleep last night dear?" Persephone's voice grew motherly again; something Nico realised was a continued trait with her as they started to mend their relationship, as she looked at Reyna like she wanted to create a giant marshmallow pillow fort and just trap her in there until she recovered - and Nico mused that most likely him and Hazel would join her so they could snuggle up in a big sticky but comfortable dog pile.

Reyna seemed to preen slightly at the mention of praise from her mother and the concern she was getting from the Goddess before returning to her formal manner as she attempted to keep herself from smiling too much. It was a pretty smile, Nico judged, not a smile of vicious intent or mocking laughter but a true and sweet and honest one that could brighten a person's day just a little whenever someone sees it. "I managed to sleep a little, my lady, and I've had a couple of five hour energy drinks. Director Chiron has placed me in the Mar's cabin and its impossible to hear yourself think in there much less sleep so my condition is a result of that but I am perfectly capable of doing my duties nonetheless!"

Persephone sighed at the obvious attempt to hide her exhaustion. "Praetor Reyna, don't you know yet that you are always welcome to stay in ... my husband's cabin? It's quiet and no one will disturb your rest, if you're not freaked out by the coffin beds!" she joked as she took a small sip of nectar from a gilded crystal and gold Champaign glass elegantly. Nico noticed again the little hesitation at the mention of his father and grew worried at her almost scared reference to him; intriguing him as to what exactly happened between the two Gods to make her so apphrensive towards Hades but from her tone he understood it was nothing good which surprised him because out of all the Olympians he had thought his father one the better ones in terms of his relationship with his children and wife. Perhaps an argument got out of hand or they disagreed on a public issue? No ... not that; something else. Something personal enough to make her afraid of her husband and nervous whenever she was forced to mention him in conversation; marital problems perhaps of a deeper nature? Hazel seemed to be on the same wavelength because she too had seemingly caught to hesitation and silently glanced at Nico in hopes he knew. Honestly he didn't understand much about his father's relationship with Persephone; he knew that the God was regretful of his affairs, loved her enough to stand Demeter talking about cereals, and was confident with her fighting skills enough to have her by his side in battle but other than that it was a mystery how they interacted as wife and husband. Then Nico noticed something ... her ring finger ... it was bare. Persephone always wore her wedding ring, never even taking it off for gardening, for as long as he knew her so when he saw the slightly pale imprint he knew that the marriage was in deep shit. What the hell did his father do to get his wife to take off her wedding ring and talk about him in the way she did? Hopefully, in time, Persephone would feel comfortable enough in the siblings to confide as to the nature of the problems between her and Hades but for now he would not push. Their relationship was already on fragile ground with the reconciliation and Nico didn't want to stir problems that would destroy all the progress they had made so he stayed silent and silently pleaded with his sister to do the same thing and respect the woman's privacy in this matter.

Reyna lifted an amused eyebrow as she asked curiously; "Coffin beds?" in a tone of confusion as she looked at the siblings for an explanation.

Hazel sighed as if she was annoyed; "Yeah, apparently the guys who decorated it thought we were vampires or something. Comfortabe enough though, just a little weird!" She then took a large gulp of her cranberry juice before shuddering slightly at the taste. Nico wondered why she had been given the drink when she obviously did not enjoy it; perhaps a health thing or a girl thing that Persephone was helping her with? It did look gross though, like a cup of watered down blood, and the taste must have been digusting because Hazel eyed it with a look of annoyance that Nico found a little adorable.

"Strange ... thank-you for the invitation, my lady, I'll head over as soon as I send these off. Now; how are you all after last night? Jason told me a little but I think that he might be understating it a little!" Nico saw his little sister straighten and glare warningly at the Praetor as if to tell her to have caution with her words while Persephone stiffened as she held her cup tight within her hands. They both knew something, and Nico was sure it wasn't good.

He replied dismissingly at the events of last night on autopilot; "Just some idiots poking fun, nothing I haven't heard before!" as he tried to decipher the information he had on hand about last night to understand a little about what was going on. They were heading to breakfast, the girls insulted him, Nico vanished into the shadows, he was calmed down by Persephone, and then he returned to a relieved Hazel - that was as much as he knew so far so somewhere after he vanished and before he returned, Hazel must have experienced something bad that would make that look on her face credible. Perhaps she did know what the girls were saying and was now disgusted by him or maybe she didn't believe it and had gotten angry at the girls for the false rumours? The second option was more credible given that his sister was extremely protective of him and thought that as his younger sibling - she was entitled to watch his back by any means necessary despite his protests that he could take care of himself. If she knew about him being gay then he was sure she wouldn't react so relieved when he returned or tried to convince him that she would stay by his side no matter what. Instead she would probably be more than a little disgusted by his preferences and the 1920s perception of it would have triggered ... a rather bad reaction to say the least. She'd probably try to find out how to fix him ... wasn't there something about that on the mortal TV once about camps that did that? Nico didn't think he could stand it if she tried that; instinctively his back shivered at the thought as some distant feeling came through from his past in Italy with Bianca and his mother nothing ever good happened from sending people in 'Camps' for their differences - the world had enough history books to evidence of that.

Reyna always saw through any of his attempts at diversion; "It's not nothing, Nico. We were all worried about you, Hazel especially, and you should have heard that Doctor of yours rave on and on about how he's going to imprison you in the infirmary next time he sees you so 'the damn fool doesn't go disappearing on me again!'. Are you sure you're ok?" Hazel was stiff as a board at the mention of her, how badly had she reacted? He had seen his little sister move labyrinths, fight giants with the help of witches, and had heard of her preventing the rise of Gaia even at the cost of her own life - so how badly did she injure people when he was in danger? He thought back to the mention of Frank from before ... Frank ... had he tried to calm her down and instead been injured in her temper? Was that why she looked so uncomfortable, but then why hadn't she gone to visit him? Maybe a guilty conscience had weighed her down - in that case Nico needed to find a way to help her because there was no way in Hades that he was going to let his little sister's life go down the drain just because of him.

"We're working on it, actually that's why we're up so early!" Hazel spoke up suddenly, obviously sensing her brother's brooding and trying to help him out as usual by filling in the gaps in conversation. He looked at her properly this time; trying to figure out the differences from when before and after the incident, as he made the glass of chocolate milk refill with a quick command except this time there was extra foam because he definitely needed something to cover his abrupt silence. Hazel's face seemed ... older? More exhausted? More ... done with it all yet trying to hold on 

"Was wondering about that too; thought you slept like the dead before noon?"

"Don't mock the nap, I'm Italian - only the Spanish have us outbeat on the joys of a good Siesta!"

"You don't siesta, Nico, you go into full hibernation mode like a baby bear!"

"Not a baby or a bear!"

"Actually, that sounds like a perfect nickname for you, Little Bear!"

"Fine; Hazey-Daisy!"

"You two are idiots!"

"Why doesn't anyone have a nickname for you?"

"They wouldn't dare!"

"Hey MacaReyna, oy!"

"I hate both of you!"

"Oh shush, you love us! Back to topic; Persephone woke us up so she can take us to Brooklyn for the day to get a few things sorted!"

"Why Brooklyn and what kind of things?"

"A complete and utter revival of his fashion sense; some friends of mine are based there and have agreed to the challenge. They both need a whole new wardrobe, plus Nico really needs a haircut and both of them need Doctor's appointments because I don't think they've been to the dentist or optician in their lives. Might also go the library as well while we're out; you need anything?"

"No, my lady, I'm fine!"

"I insist, besides their father is paying for it and I'm determined to give him a heart attack when my credit card bill comes through ... is that a piano I see?"

"Yeah; the Apollo cabin hosts Music Nights sometimes but with the infirmary full they've probably forgotten to put it back in their cabin again ... maybe Nico could help them? After all; he's overdue with a check up and Will Solace has been quite adamant that he keep up with his appointments - Doctor's orders!"

"Maybe the Doctor could know by now that I don't take kindly to being told what to do?"

"Nico, just go to the damn appointment - at worse Will might refuse you a lollipop at the end of it!"

"I don't want a damn lollipop!"

"No," "But I think Solace might like to see you eating one!"

"Shut the fuck up, MacaReyna!"

"Just think about it, little bear, now I'm off to your lair - pray for me that no tall, dark, and ravenous vamps try to eat me will you?"

"Is that Beethoven's moonlight sonata?"

"Yeah; you know how to play?"

"A little; there was a couple of pianos in the malls when I was ... absent from Camp and I sort of messed around with it. I don't know why I know how to play it ... probably muscle memory perhaps that hasn't been wiped away by the Lethe from my childhood?"

"Then sit down and let's battle!"

"So ... how is things with dad?"

"Things are ... complicated right now!"

"Complicated like taking off your wedding ring?"

"We ... I ... I can't ... He um!" "While we were fucking; he started whispering dirty talk to his dearly dead Italian Mistress; your mother!"

"Oh Gods; what did you do?"

"Held a knife towards him, then panicked, ran for it, had a mental breakdown in my garden, threw away my wedding ring and came up here to make amends with you two while preparing to divorce the bastard!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I've said it once, Nico, and I'll say it again - this thing between your father and me is neither the fault of you nor your mother really. We've been growing apart for a while now and it's just been recently when I've come to understand my marriage is basically dead in the water!"

"What started it; may I ask?"

"Let's move to Bizet's Habanera 'Le amour est un oiseux rebelle' and I'll tell you!" "The cause of our marital problems started a long time ago in the 18th century when your father and I had fallen in love with living in Paris and French life so we stayed there despite the Flame of the West moving on to other lands secretly despite the urging of the rest of the Gods to join them in Spain and later England. It was 1745 and we were attending a masked ball in honour of the Dauphin's marriage to the Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain; enjoying the dancing, the card games and the excess of the French Court who were so ... beautifully vulgar yet perfectly sophisticated in their manners. Hades had just moved off in search of an acquaintance of ours who had been in possession of a certain wine we both had been in the mind to buy when ... when she entered and it was like everything had changed. She was so wonderfully Greek, dressed in the visage of Artemis with a bow strung across her back and a smile that lit a fire in me that I had never known before while I was in the dress of myself so when Hades returned I immediately asked for him to introduce us. She was dazzling in the candle light; a ray of innocence and virtue in an otherwise corrupt and decedent court, and I couldn't help but feel a helpless sense of falling in love for the second time in my life. Sure she was attempting to gain the interest of the Dauphin, but I couldn't help but feel love for the woman even if we had never spoken before. Hades was bemused by my attraction and strode over just after she had gained the Dauphin's public declaration of affection to introduce us both without delay as I attempted to catch her eye over the crowd. They made their way over to me and I swear the sky was falling and the earth was shaking because she was so wonderfully sweet with the bluest eyes you could ever see and locks of golden hair more finer than any cloth I had ever owned. After, we arranged to converse in a series of letters that gave fruit to my attraction after Hades permitted her to join us in the marital bed despite risking the Dauphin's wrath as he had fallen for the girl too. She was so clever, practiced in culture and arts to the point where when Athena herself met her one rainy day in her private apartments after a fiasco with the Norse - she was proclaimed the best of womankind and we named her our 'Second Wife' despite Hera's objections. Then ... then ... she passed away and all our happiness was cut tragically short. I was driven to drink outrageously before going on hunger strikes and mass hysteria from the grief while my husband just faded away from me as he took it a lot more stoically as he seduced girl after girl to rid the pain of her loss from him ... and now we're here at the crossroads and there's the oncoming train of reality rushing at us but I won't allow your father to drag me down with him just to sit by his side as he puts another woman's face onto mine in order to cope with his obvious grief for both Jeanne and Maria!"

"Jeanne ... you were in love with Madame De Pompadour?"

"Yes, and I relished every moment of it; good and bad, despite it all. She was my soulmate and now that she is gone - I can clearly see now that she was the last chapter in my marriage because without her there is no music, no clothes, no money that could ever make us whole again!"

" ... she was a woman though?"

"Yes; that had never bothered me - in fact I still support the view that gaining the love of a woman at that time was one of my greatest accomplishments. I don't mean to be sexist in stating this view but realistically speaking; women have more at stake when it comes to courting, because biologically, they look for security both financially and emotionally in relationships so that they can safely have children while men have emotional and physical needs that are easier expressed. In terms of my courting of Jeanne, it was far more difficult because 1) We were both women, 2) She was a favourite of the Dauphin and 3) because we both were already married to our respective husbands at that time. Hades was more than happy to have another wife and I was overjoyed at being able to love the woman of my dreams who'd treated me so sweetly and kindly that I was amazed she wasn't divinely inspired!"

"She sounds wonderful; ... I'm sorry for your loss!"

"Hey Nico; I'll be right back ok?"

"So; now that I've discussed my marriage - I think we should finish with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries to entertain our evesdroppers!"

"When did you all get here?"

"We weren't evesdropping ... ok maybe we were but I swear it wasn't intentional. We just heard the music from outside and got curious!"

"Yeah; it's not like we thought we'd hear about two Gods and a French Mistress ... oh Gods that sounds like the start of a funny joke!"

"How about Two Gods, a loving relationship and a brick to the face?"

"You are never going to let that go are you?"

"Nope!"

"We should so have you two playing during sparring matches; it would be amazing to see Percy get his ass kicked by Annabeth to the sound of the Sugar Plum Fairy!"

"Hey why would Annabeth be able to ... no wait, she's Annabeth of course she'd kick my ass but does it have to be that? It should so be done to the soundtrack of Finding Nemo!"

"Dork!"

"Fuck1"

"Solace; what the hell happened?"

"I ... I ... um!" "I was um ... getting ... when I ... um ... uh!"

"Hey Rapunzel, found my hoodie yet?"

"Shut the fuck up Austin and eat your fucking skittles!"

"Oh, you talk to your mother with that mouth?"

"No I talk to yours and tell her about your sugar habits. Then I'd recommend a fucking diet, you prick, doctor's orders!"

"That's low, sunshine, snitches get stiches y'know!"

"No; annoying dicks get stiches after being 'accidentally' stabbed with a scalpel!"

"Need a hand, Doc?"

"Um ... yeah, thanks ... sorry about that!"

"Nah, you should hear me and Hazel when we get in an argument; we get vicious!"

"What do you say 'Gosh darn it, doll, you're such a nitwit wet blanket - well you're a spotted dick?"

"We may be from the 1920s, Solace, but I've never called anyone a nitwit in my life!"

"What a bunch of fags!"

"What the Hades did you just say!"

"You heard me; fucking faggots the two of you. Came here to eat and you two are just being disgusting - can't you just go and kill yourselves already?"

"Shut the hell up, Brienna, that's a terrible thing to say!"

"Well it's true! Disgusting queers are two steps away from fucking; what if a child went by and witnessed that shit? Shouldn't be allowed to be near each other in public! And to have one as a Doctor; what if he starts coming on to his patients and transmits his disease?"

"Ok; let's get some things straight. One; Homosexuality is not a disease. Two, I have been a medic on the battlefield for longer than you have been in this camp and I've never violated by Hippocratic or ethical codes. Three, if a younger camper asked for LGBT+ information am perfectly happy to inform them on it. Four; telling someone to kill themselves is never acceptable. Finally five; saying such disgusting stuff about campers while their much more powerful friends are in the room with them is a terrible idea because I'm pretty sure they all can kick your orangeade ass to the curb - starting with me!"

"As if a scrauny twink like you could ever take me on!"

"Bring it, you Vitamin-Clown!"

"I gather your name is Brienna?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Nothing ... just wanted to ask you a small question, do you mind?"

" ... no ... of course not!"

""Well, Brienna, I'm having difficulty believing you are actually who you say you are - in fact I don't believe you to be a homophobe at all you see I think you are protecting someone and doing their business like a sad old whipped bitch. You certaintly have the signs - the bad breath and tooth decay from a long term chronic case of anorexia to make yourself desirable to them, the layer after layer of concealer on that obvious shiner of yours from your 'truest love', the way your hands are shaking from not having a fix I suppose, and even the faint smell of piss which just surrounds you sweetheart. So my question is this; who are you working for?"

"I'm not working for anyone!"

"Come on ... tell me ... just between us girls ... no one else has to know do they ... you want to tell me don't you?"

" ... I can't ... she'll ... crossed a line ... how are you doing this?"

"Sweet heart you can tell me anything ... you want to tell me don't you ... look at me ... LOOK AT ME!"

"Drew Tanaka!" "It was Drew Tanaka; she hates Will for rejecting her advances as he's a fag and Nico for embarsing Philip Dravers - her crush - in sparring practice. She told me to do it; told me that if I got them to leave camp she'd love me again, she'd leave Philip and come back to me ... now she'll know and ... and ... and!"

"Percy Jackson, I advise you to take Miss Brienna here to Chiron so she can give her statement officially, and Miss McLean I expect you to escort Miss Tanaka to the Big House for disciplinary action for bullying, coercion, assault, abuse of power, and a whole range of other things before I personally punish the bitch myself. In fact; I may still with a Poison Ivy Curse - they've always been the most painful and since its a curse then she'll never be able to relieve the itch and maybe she'll tear her own skin out by the end of it ... yes, I think that might be funny to watch! Go on now; chop chop!"

"Doctor Solace; I commend your bravery at confronting her with such passionate vigour - please enjoy the rather large garden I've just grown outside of your infirmatory full of healing herbs as reward and to hide that God awful paint job out back. You have all of the Olympian God's thanks for saving the lives of their children on multiple occasions and have proven to be a fantastic Doctor on your own merit regardless of your parentage. Thank-you!"

"As for the rest of you; please inform Chiron that Nico will be giving him his witness statements at a later date tonight because I've just realised we are very much behind schedule and must pop off! Thank-you!"

"So ... how was Frank?"

"Shut up; we were just talking!"

"Oh really, did the smudged lipstick happen while you were talking?

"Hating you right now!"

"Ha, ha!" "Now; we must dash - the shop is just down the street from here and Cleo is going to be pissed off if we don't hurry up!"

"Stephie, your later than a harlot's period!"

"Cleo, you fucking whore, how have you been?"

"Good, met a nice chap down the street - God damnit do the Puente Ricans know how fuck!"

"Vulgar as ever, I see, please let me introduce my charges, Nico and Hazel!" "Nico and Hazel - meet the depraved and bawdy queen of Celtic drama, Cleo - Goddess of Beauty!"

"Ah, enchante madame! Your benefactor, Lady Persephone, has told me all about you, but she did not tell me how beautiful you are. For a woman like me, that is almost a crime!"

"I'm sure that a woman like you tells every woman she is beautiful. Is that not a crime also?"

"Ah, I like her! Fiesty and quick-witted; definitely a woman to look out for!"

"Ah, this must be Nico then! My Gods; I thought you were your handsome father then - you definitely have the charismatic air to you!"

"Thank you, Miss!"

"And polite to boot; thank goodness for Italian manners! I swear every time Hades comes in here it's like he's looking for trouble"

"That's probably because every time he comes in - you throw salt over his head!"

"It's tradition; drives away bad spirits! Anyway; come inside - it looks like we've got a lot to do!"

 

They enter the Pavilion where Nico sees Reyna writing notification of death reports for the dead roman causalities, so they invite her to breakfast, so they can talk causalities, roman power, damage to Greek infrastructure, her efforts to protect Nico, her parentage, and finally Reyna's welfare as she seems exhausted so they offer Cabin 13 to serve as a sleeping quarters while they are out so Reyna can welcome in Hecate to create the closet prototypes that Persephone has ordered. For breakfast, Hazel consumes a lot of meat in the breakfast such as four sausages, bacon, blood pudding, and plenty of eggs to feed the wolf inside but tries to eat normal food as well like a brioche covered in egg yolk and fruit off Nico's plate like melon, apples, and blueberries as Persephoneâ€™s thorned plants creep around them in a protective cocoon to ensure that Nico doesnâ€™t feel too uncomfortable in the sunlight.Â  Throughout this conversation Nico gets the impression that Hazel was involved in some confrontation but does not feel confident in asking what as it seems to keep the girl on edge, barking each time it is referenced and even bringing Reyna herself to heel when pushed too far. They then begin to get interested in hobbies (Poetry, horses, and Hiking for Hazel - Magic tricks, history, and rock climbing) where upon they stumble upon their musical gifts of Violins and Pianos to the point where they play a duet of Clare de lune that draws the ears of Lou Ellen who calls Hazel away so they can talk while Nico and Persephone continue on with the piano with Moonlight Sonata, Carmen and Ride of the Valkyries where Persephone reveals details of her relationship with Madame de Pompadour and Nico reveals his want to find out what happened to his sister. The music then draws the attention of the Seven as they return from the infirmary with an obvious cloud of disquiet from before. Will walks into a wall as Nico asks about the injuries on Piper, Frank and Jason which allows them to hide their cause to protect him from finding out what happened - causing a cute scene where Will who stutters when addressing Nico in his new clothes and swearing at Austin for losing his shoe in the first place. They speak a little about his treatments and he tells them about going to Brooklyn with Hazel to get a second opinion from an actual doctor jokingly as he asks after Hazel. Nico addresses the elephant in the room while staring pointedly at Frank. Jason mentions that Hazel has been roofied with a potion in her drink, which combined with Hazel's change of clothes, obvious smell of bleach, attempts to hide the bruises, uneasiness around Frank being mentioned, sudden craving for meat, and obviously faked smiles makes Nico assume that he either raped, beat, or otherwise caused harm to his beloved little sister and so gives him two minutes as Praetor to explain himself before Nico personally revenges his sister's dishonour with a cold fury. Frank and Jason try to explain what happened but when it is mentioned that Hazel was alone, unconscious, drugged, and sick when in Cabin 13 - Nico makes Frank swear upon the legacy of his family, his mother and the Firewood that holds his life in balance that he hadn't attacked Hazel or molested her in anyway. He takes in all this information coldly, finally resolving to get Hazel's point of view and informs Frank in no uncertain words not to speak, see, write, or otherwise interact with her until then so he can't cover for himself. This creates a lot of tension between the two, but Nico is resolute that no credence is given to Frank's story until Hazel tells him otherwise and that till then - Frank is a viable target for the wrath of Nico in order to protect her dignity. Hazel comes back at the moment where Frank argues back that he finds it offensive to be called a rapist and abuser when Nico has nothing to do with it - to which Nico fires back that it has everything to do with him the moment someone decided to make his sister miserable or bruised. It is then when he feels a blade to his throat.


	8. POV - Hazel 2

 

Plot: Hazel listens to the first part of the Midnight Sonata before noticing Frank hanging around at the door so she tells him she'll be right back before walking in silence with him to a storage room for privacy so they can talk about what happened. Hazel at this time is feeling guilty now that the dust has cleared about attacking Frank and after a few tries to make a genuine apology that didn't sound fake - she eventually resolves on letting go of her pride visibly the only way she can by kneeling down in a show of submission that she hates as she asks for his forgiveness. He doesn't reply so she raises herself up with a "Well? ... fine, just let me embarrass myself while you just stand there laughing. Why did I even try?" as she moves to leave. Frank then moves quickly to push her against the far wall while holding both of her hands above her head. 

A shiver raced down her spine at the heated look Frank was directing at her. Her eyed widened when Frank drew so close that her breasts where crushed to his chest and he raised her hands beside her head. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she became a bit dazed as his strong sandalwood scent invaded her senses like a woodfire doused in caramel scented water. "You drive me crazy, woman, how could I not forgive you?" he growled huskily at her.

She opened her mouth to respond when he drew close, slowly as to give her time to say no, before crushing his firm lips onto hers. She melted against him as Frank devoured her mouth, capturing her lips with such passion that it took her breath away. This kiss was different - more wild than tender - from any they had shared so far. Never had she known such passion, such fire in a kiss. It was feral and deliciously unchaste and it stripped her of the want to argue the point further with him as sensual pleasure took over. Hazel could feel her heart pounding a fast tempo against her ribcage and she gasped when her body began to warm up quickly and her breasts began to tingle again. Her nipples began to ache and she unconsciously rubbed them against Frank's hard chest in order to ease the ache, but instead the sensation caused a spark to flare right to her core. The feeling caused the wetness to increase in her nether regions as a searing heat began to grow in the depths of her body, arousing longings that were completely delicious in her captured state.

Seduced completely by this new show of desire; she wrapped her tongue around his as her blood pounded hard in her head, giving her face a rosy blush. Frank must have felt the same amount of arousal as he brought his right leg forward, wedging his thigh between Hazel's legs and began to roughly rub against her warmth. All rationality left her and was replaced by a desire so great that it left her with no other option than to burn away the ache by moving her hips against his hard thigh as she allowed him to dominate her tiny frame. She smirked as she kissed him eagerly as she tried to get out of his grip so she could touch him while she continued to enjoy the incredible sensation she was experiencing in her untouched core so to gain back power in the submissive position. Her breasts began to beg to be touched and underneath her lace bra and beneath the firmness of his muscular chest her nipples hardened even more. Eventually Frank felt content enough with her soft moans and whimpers that she freed her wrists while he tangled one hand in her hair as his earthy brown eyes plunged to the depths of her golden orbs. 

He moved her head to the side so he could slant his mouth against hers, greedily taking what she had to offer, while his other hand moved up from her side to touch a breast, too far gone to stop himself and think about what he was doing and the directness that he'd never seemed to possess before. When she groaned encouragingly at his touch, he cupped her covered breast more firmly and began to knead it, causing her to let out a moan into his hot mouth. This seemed to trigger even more longing for her as he wrapped his hands around Hazel's thighs, and lifting her up slightly and wrapping her legs around him, he pressed his painfully erect cock against her warmth, eliciting a loud gasp from her. My Gods, she'd created a monster and she was so proud in her hand in doing so. She could feel herself getting so wet and her stomach began to coil in a tight spring at the newfound bravery her timid boyfriend had gained. Hazel was not to be outdone though, as pried herself from his hot lips and arched her back with a loud moan, shoving her head against the rough bark of the tree behind her and grabbing tightly to Frank's muscular arms at the massive pleasure she was experiencing. She began to frantically move her hips to press herself closer to the hardness between his strong thighs as she sought to bring herself to the edge of reason. 

This scene is interrupted when he gets a little too into it as he reaches under her shirt but she decides to keep the power she holds over him by pushing him down onto the floor as she straddles him and makes him understand she'll never kneel to him again so he should treasure the memory of it. She notes his smirk at the position as she whispers "Now; this is moving a little too fast - I'm a proper southern lady Mr Zhang and you'll make me so untidy!" He moves to get up as she pushes him back down again, "Especially since we're not courting yet!" which he quickly asks her on a date for that evening for the Campfire Celebrations and Fireworks. She pretends to think about it before saying "I'd be honoured for your escort, Mr Zhang!" before kissing him chastely and murmering "Though I am disappointed that I wasn't able to emply everything in my power to have made you accept my sincere apologies. Maybe it would be best that you don't know what I had in mind ... after all I don't know how you if you could handle it!" she kisses him one more leaning kiss before skipping out of the door to overhear the interaction between Will Solace and Nico and the Homophobic girl. The rage comes back causing a small tremor to radiate from her though Persephone stops her with a look while she uses the Desire power against the girl to force a confession. She is then taken away in the cloud to the shop where there is Latin American music 'Havana' music playing because its their shared favoured music choice because of the sheer passion and joy of it. While the two converse about Latin American men, she confronts Nico about what the girls were saying but Nico says to wait till later for the private conversation. She finds out that the Celtic Pantheon is smaller than the Greek/Roman one because of the lack of Pagans praying to them and the lack of real estate. Cleo then introduces herself to the children and gets one of her assistant Banshees to take their measurements while she talks with Persephone about the different styles of clothes she wants for their wardrobes. For Hazel - the palette they are sticking to is purples, earthy tones of green and brown, golds and avoiding Pink, Red, and especially blue which makes her look washed out or odd and going for three styles of dressing her to reflect her age, position and personality.

They then talk about styles with a magic mirror that shows Hazel in various fashion getups with her helping them to develop a rulebook on choosing clothes with her ticking yes or no on each style and writing comments while Nico gets his measurements taken personally by Cleo so he can feel comfortable not near Monsters while he wears his Ipod to block it out. Hazel decides on clothes that are more exotic in taste with bold or intricate patterns reminiscent of bohemian/equine cowboy/cute/Latin American Salsa summer style. For her jackets; she chooses trench coat, leather jackets, poncho and kimono cardigans. For her dress type she chooses; empire, wrap, sun, strapless, and one shoulder dresses that cut a fitted figure around her hips as she's self-conscious of her wide hips. For her skirts she chooses layered, flounce, tulle and handkerchief styles with demine shorts and skinny jeans. Her shoe choices are riding, pumps, ankle boots and thigh high healed boots for extra height. Her hat wear is slouchy crochet beanie, cloche, beret, and Gatsby while she prefers a one-piece swimming costume. Most of her tops are camisoles, strappy and knitwear with sweetheart, off the shoulder, and flutter cuts. Most of her preferred material is cotton, lace, taffeta, wool, tulle, and chiffon with no fur at all because Hazel disagrees with it. Thus her outfit are functional and practical with hints of sexiness and sweetness. She decides as well with Persephone on various designers to help with creating more former classy gowns for official business from Coco Chanel, Versace, Dior, Vera Wang and Alexander McQueen. She also receives an already premade evening outfit in three different luxury boxes for her date tonight with Frank.

With Nico; they decide on him having more monochrome colours with hints of blues, greens, and browns while avoiding reds, pinks, and yellows which don't work with his skin tone at all. Together with the girls they help him create a casually relaxed style of James Dean/Rocker/Flanel/1930 Newsboy tone. For his jackets; he decides on Aviator, bomber, hoodies and a few leather ones to test Will's patience. For his suit style they decide on the Italian style with designs from Armani, Brioni, and Zegna to have a slim and athletic build with charcoal and navy colour base with white and black shirts and various coloured ties. For trousers they decide on skinny jeans and for shoes they allow dress shoes, converses, Chelsea's, and sneakers. Then the top styles are band shirts, waistcoats, plaid flannel overshirts, henleys and T-shirts as well as some 1930s things like newsboys caps, button up shirts, and pull over cardigans. Nico decides on cotton, leather, polyester, demine and silk for the suits.

Then Cleo uses the same mirror to get pictures of Reyna from the children's memories and starts assembling another clothing line just for the girl in the palette of reds, golds and purples with hints of vibrancy with the styles being very intense and energetic with wild patterns and asymmetrical designs and tons of colours like a carnival. Each piece had to be a statement of fierce professional power and vibrancy with a couple of business skirt suits thrown in and a huge array of designer shoes from Jimmy Choo, Prada, Chanel, and Gucci along with an array of sunglasses for extra badassness from Prada, Ralph Lauren and Ray-ban as just another gift. She also buys a lot of sporty typed fashion for her from Nike like running shoes and other branded sportswear like shirts, yoga pants and other things like that in white, black, grey and red.

Hazel asks why she is spoiling them and Persephone tells them that its her way of making up for the years of bad luck that the children have been having and a thank you from the Gods indirectly for saving them all. Not to mention it brings custom to a friend and helps establish the children as the richest, most affluent, most beloved and most respected members of camp so that people will see them as being better than what they first believed them to be - a 13 Black girl and an emo crazy person.

After this; Cleo has the daughter Banshees wash and prep their hair for styling with Nico - hair to get rid of the tufts of black hair that stick up in curls like baby bat wings and cuts it short but not too short that its shaved rather she makes it more softly curly and low-maintenance for a messy yet innocent look. She cuts it to mid-length and then applies a little styling mousse to get it a wet and crisp look that is beyond attractive with his high Italian facial features in his cheeks from Maria and the dark brown-almost black eyes of his father. Hazel in the meantime has her hairstyle done so that her shoulder-length curly cinnamon brown hair is changed into a mass of perfectly constructed coils that reminds Hazel of a French aristocrat yet still makes her look still adorable and badass. The tight coils are then finally pulled back with a thick white head band that empathises the cinnamon colouring into a more innocent and vintage theme.

During this process; Nico listens to music while Hazel holds his hand so being close to people doesn't scare him. Hazel also talks to him about how she's excited to finally be able to spend time with him without the War or monsters getting in the way and so they play 20 questions while the women work on them and Persephone shops for weapons to add in the secret compartment at the back of their respective TARDIS wardrobes for safety like spears, swords, bow and arrow sets, shields, full sets of Greek/Roman armour, a small pair of battle axes and finally a little case of antidotes for common poisons just in case. She also steals a pack of Gauloises cigarettes for her own use.

Finished, they wait as Persephone pays her tab with Cleo and then they visit Brigid who approaches them slowly with a very small and demure voice that endears her to the children as she takes a variety of tests on the both of them and examinations to ensure their health. She first allows Nico to have Hazel in the examination room with him while Persephone waited outside so he could feel relaxed in the woman's presence as she has him sit on a dentist table so she can preform an examination of his eyes, teeth and overall health easier. The exploration of his mouth, done slowly so he doesn't vomit at the sensation, shows his need to have his wisdom teeth taken out and the eye test shows that he is suffering from near-sightedness from the darkness so needs glasses which she quickly gets ordered so Hermes can post them after they are made. The general exam shows that he is lacking in calcium, certain vital vitamins and is slightly anaemic so she puts him on a blood drip while she redresses and heals the werewolf scratches on his arm. After this she gives him a small baggie of medicines for pain, boosting multivitamins, iron tablets, a lollipop, and liquid sunshine to help him from developing rickets from the lack of sunlight as well as orders to drink more dairy, stay active in the sun, and develop a stable routine to get through the day.

Nico leaves as Hazel has her examination which reveals that Hazel has very high-blood pressure from her recent stresses and as she is from African descent that needs to be treated with grape juice, a healthier diet, and amlodipine which is a Calcium channel blocker that reduces blood pressure by widening the blood vessels. This is warned to give her headaches, and stomach aches so she is told to have more fibre and to sleep more often than what she is. She then goes on about period problems where is told about treatments for the pain such as hot water bottles, hot showers, chocolate, yoga, and finally orgasms. She then asks Brigid about sex during this time because she is worried about consent ages in New York, consequences and what it actually is so she is given a complete sex talk revolving around the Consent, Contraception, and Cooperation (consent in what you actually want to do, contraception in what you don't want to happen after, and Cooperation in receiving and giving pleasure on both ends). She is told about the reproductive systems, methods of getting ready for sex, what sex actually does to people, and finally about birth control methods such as how to put on a condom and even gives her an implant as she is still on her last day of her period. She is also told that in New York, the minimum age is 13 if the person is no older than four years, but that she should probably try experimenting with her own body first before allowing another to try as it allows her to know if there's any irregularities. After this talk; Hazel is given a load of goodies paid for on Persephone's account such as sanitary pads, tampons, a small hot water bottle, a small bottle of lubricating oil, a small guidebook on sex, an aromatherapy candle, some chocolate bars, some massage creams, a water bottle of grape juice, and a box of condoms.

As they come out of the medical exam room, Persephone proposes that soon they should go to a spa for some bonding time with Hazel as they say their goodbyes so they can get to the library soon so they can avoid the rush hour traffic. She introduces the subject on how the two of them were feeling about their education levels and what they were thinking of doing as jobs in the future with Hazel wanting to give back because of her second chance and Nico wants to learn more about law so he can help out in the Room of Judgment in the underworld and his role as Ghost King but they don't know for sure. Persephone supports their decisions and supposes that they could look for books at the library on the matter as they get into Jules-Albert's limonene. Hazel asks what exactly Persephone does when she is not busy helping her husband with running the underworld and Persephone states that she has a range of pursuits such as running a florists, being a wildlife photographer and helping out animal welfare and Greenpeace societies out of bad spots. Hazel is happy with this stance and they talk about helping with charities and the problems with the world at the moment now that Pan is gone - Persephone, Demeter and Artemis are having to pick up the slack in the wild world.

They finally end up at the library, where they quickly try to find the least offensive looking employee there - a girl with fair skin, deep blue eyes, a mischievous, lopsided smile, and a caramel brown hair that she usually puts bright coloured bubble-gum pink streaks in. She is the same height as Persephone and wears a casual library assistant blue T-Shirt, skinny yet slightly tattered jeans, and a pair of combat boots and calls herself Sadie Kane. The girl chews gum as she writes down where they can find the various books they need off the crappy library computers, mentioning how her brother is forcing her to intern there because he caught her and her boyfriend making out instead of studying so is probably now trying to give the shovel talk to him. Hazel asks innocently what a 'shovel talk' is and Persephone replies that it is the "If you hurt him/her I will break you" talk given as a warning to a romantic partner from a concerned party, usually family or a close friend. Nico looks uncomfortable and Hazel confronts him about it so he mentions how he did give one to Frank when he started dating Hazel and actually demonstrated how he could bury him without needing an actual shovel. Hazel is touched as the brotherly gesture so she kisses his cheek then bickers with him about being adorable after following Sadie around to the information on LGBT+, Racial history and modern historical events 1900-2000s.

 

Starts with her walking off with Lou Ellen so she can apologise for snapping at her heels yesterday but is confronted by Lou Ellen as she starts to apply a layer of goo to her arm to heal the bruises left on her skin before being berated for not heading to the infirmary after Nico returned so she can have a check up to ensure the drugs had worn off. Hazel is confused at her brisk treatment before asking how long the transformation potion would affect her but since it is a potent blend Lou Ellen can't say only that she should drink a tonic of wolfsbane to keep it at bay and to wear a specially made bracelet cuff of pure silver inscribed with the triple moon symbol with a large moonstone setting in the middle to heal and help her control her transformations in the meantime which is a gift from Hecate herself. Hazel notes the rest of the Hecate campers (Camila, Agatha, Mariana, and an adopted Hispanic camper Gabriella who left the Demeter Cabin as she is pregnant with another fallen camper's child Jaime Blake son of Ares and doesn't want her sisters to steal it away from her as she is only fifteen years old and they want her to give it up for adoption in New Rome). Irish Camila O'Connell is the calmer one, preaching peace and tranquillity, with a talent for candle making while British Agatha Archer works more in tune with the woods and biological creatures and is Gabriella's best friend. Spanish Mariana Cortez is the youngest at six years old with a habit at pyrotechnics and explosions that the others try to restrain as she is a known arsonist in her home town when her powers came undone. Finally, Lou Ellen Blackstone (also known by her real name of Layla Ellenie Whiterock which she changed to prevent her father from finding her and exacting revenge for her taking his left eye out with a fork to get away from his drunken hands) is more joking and humorous, but carries the burden of being the eldest and is haunted by her past causing her to be promiscuous in her love life and attire. The four adopt Hazel as an honorary Hecate daughter because of her strength and magic, allowing Lou Ellen to magically inscribe a few protection tattoos using an Egyptian wand made of Hippo bone and empowered with an amber crystal to help her focus her magic and become more adept at sensing her own lupine senses so she can smell, see, hear, feel, and taste in a greater degree. They talk about the lupine form and discuss the different behaviours she was experiencing as a result with Agatha explaining wolf biology and her instinct to mate and create a viable pack with Frank which leads her to announce her intention to break up formally with him in order to keep the split on her terms yet end it admirably with honour instead of harsh words. She can't stand knowing she caused him pain even in a drugged state, yet can't take back the harsh words she said to him because all of them were true despite her love for him as he denied her agency as she hurt him physically. The girls all agree to help her move forward with her life after it and want a girls day which leads Marianna to blurt out about Nico being gay which scares the life out of Hazel to the point of rushing back to find him. When she moves, she finds a whole new world has opened up to her with her enhanced senses and she sneaks up on Nico confronting Will before placing a blade on her brother's throat jokingly to tease him about lowering his guard. Hazel then selects a nearby red rose growing in a flower pot which she strokes pointedly as she talks aloud about how everything feels different in wolf vision. She then rounds on Annabeth as she has drawn her blade like Percy as she psychologically analyses them to make them both back off such as pointing out the spider in the corner to get Annabeth to freak out and forcing Percy into a state of shock by crowding him to trigger his claustrophobia so to get them to admit to needing therapy to get rid of Tartarus thus making them leave the room. After that she gives her letter of request for medical leave from the Roman Army for an undeterminable amount of time, which Reyna readily grants, along with orders for her to go and rest in Cabin 13 in solitude. Then she rounds on Piper and Jason, getting Jason to obsess on stopping the rumours surrounding Nico by making him feel guilty for failing his team and by getting Piper to punish the Demeter Cabin for their actions by pointing out the smell of sex on their bodies to embarrass them into obeying her orders. Then she finally gets Frank to leave as she hands him the letter professionally and coldly, remarking off hand about how he smells like sweat from beating his frustrations out on the events of yesterday with Clarissa in the training field and how he really should learn how to block judging by the pool of blood that is causing bruises which she can hear with the enhanced senses and comments on his self-damaging nature which he should really work on. She then uses gardening sheers to snip the head of the rose off right in front of an indignant Piper (whose mother has the rose as her symbol) as she replaces the stem in the vase before asking Persephone if she can transport the Hecate girls with them to Brooklyn, so she can talk with Nico more calmly in private.

Persephone does't say much else because as soon as they are away from the crowds - she draws a knife and holds Sadie at blade point to get her to admit to being an Egyptian and that she won't harm the children because she doesn't trust them much after going dark during the Apophis thing and not giving help when she called for it against Gaea along with another incident where Hathor tried to seduce Hecate to her unconscious jealousy. They argue a little as to which was more important and Sadie promises to get the Gods through Anubis - who is still in the doghouse for an incident regarding the Romans in Egypt and taking them to the Egyptian afterlife instead of the Roman one which caused Hades to have a lot of debates with Osiris about proper lines of communication. Hazel overhears all this while looking for a book on segregation and is overwhelmed at the show of motherly protectiveness shown by Persephone and the idea of Egyptian Pantheons and who knows how many others.

Eventually she is called away by Nico to read a little on LGBT+ and they both agree to read about it more in private at the cabin later on so get a good stack of lore on it, racism, history, witchcraft and underworld legends as well as stuff on their chosen carriers. They load these books into the car as they say goodbye to Sadie - who promises to stay in touch with Hazel as she is interested in the Egyptian magic of Isis (who is in the doghouse with Persephone at this point) through dreamwalking with the Duat and the Hades' control over dreams until the guys in cabin 9 can fashion phones that don't attract monsters but Sadie still gives her Sadies' phone number just in case. Nico mentions how strange their lives have gotten and Hazel agrees but her stomach growls so Persephone laughs and escorts them to the restaurant L'Artusi for some authentic Italian cuisine.


	9. POV - Hecate

Plot:

"Sooooo, what are you going to wear to the big shindig?"

"Did you know that the episode 'Shindig' from the TV show fireplay filmed its sword fight scene specially so that the 'Country Bear Jamboree' barn from the Walt Disney production facility wasn't seen in the background so to ruin the take?"

"A show cancelled far too soon, rip the magnificent shininess that was Firefly may it never be forgotten; Fox executives are still burning in the Field of Punishment for that - but seriously, what are you wearing?"

"I ... I thought that my black robes would be enough!"

"Cate, you can't keep moping around in those things like before; Persephone is about to become a free woman again! It's your big chance to woo her into being your broomstick side along as you both romantically shoot off into the sunset - which won't happen if you look like a collage student having a mental breakdown over their dissertations. So I'll ask again, what are you going to wear?"

"I thought maybe a hoodie or a poncho?"

"By the Graces; you are freaking impossible! Stop wearing cloaks, full stop, and get something pretty or I'll shove your head into an aquarium!"

"You know I don't know how to dress myself; can't you do it?"

"Fine; you're just fortunate that I know you enough to be prepared!" "Here; this should work!"

She handed Hecate what looked like a large white dress box with golden ribbon detailing along the corners which she delicately undid so to see inside. The outfit inside was ... immodest to say the least with a Alexander Wang black mini skirt, a double breasted black trench coat with Victorian esque corseted ribbon to lace it up at the back to create a ruffle effect, and a grey ribbed sweater with a ... very questionable plunging V-neck that laced up like everything else. On top of all this came a pair of velvet over the knee in height boots that were almost dominatrix in the way the lace detailing at the back handled.

"I ,,, I'm not quite sure it's ,.. well ... did you know that in 1907, Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimmer, was arrested on a Boston beach for public indecency for wearing a one-piece swimsuit which got people so angry that perceptions of the indecent outfit changed forever her?"

"Trust me it's a hell of a lot better than what you were thinking of wearing!"

"Ok, fine I'll wear it and get laughed at ... but only if you help me do this bracelet thing for Seph. She needs it urgently and I don't want to let her down!"

"Of course you don't after all this is your chance to sweep the damsel off her feet with all your ... charming personality!"

"

 

Hecate is helping Hestia to craft the snake bracelet Persephone wanted in her Spirit Realm as Hestia attempts to get the Goddess talking about her long time crush on Persephone and now that she is apparently divorcing Hades - what she will do about it? Hecate voices her concern that making her choice regarding the Goddess may not be in the woman's best interests as she doesn't want to be a rebound for her but an actual partner who Persephone could grow to love. Hestia remarks how romantic Hecate is; a person who still believes in courtly love and devotion despite the eons that have gone by and Hecate reminds her that she has always loved Persephone ever since she was a girl playing chase in the garden as she was the only Goddess who wasn't suspicious of her. She instead simply smiled joyfully with a reddening face from the excitement of the game and cheered on Hecate to go and catch her if she could; daring her wrath by coming up with cute nicknames such as 'Katy', 'Kitty', and 'Sweetie' as she encouraged her along. She tells her that even after having to walk the woman she loved down an isle to her groom, having to hold her while she cried after being in Tartarus, watching her nearly fade away from Jeanne's death, and finally having to fight opposite her in a War neither of them wanted to be in - how could she not believe in devoted true love? She helps charm the material as she remembers the day when she had stumbled in holding back while Persephone was married and had gone on ahead of Persephone to a hot spring lake that she knew the Goddess loved so she could entice her into loving the Goddess. Unfortunetly the girl just ran away instead of joining her in the water but she was encouraged by a nearby Nymph's report that she had looked at Hecate with unquestioned desire before thinking better on it and if there was attraction between them then there was a possibility of love later on when the divorce was finalised and Persephone was ready to move on. She believes in honour after all, and that a happy ending for the both of them is only possible if it is fought for - no matter the time it takes to get there. She imagines Persephone as a Queen in her fantasies and now takes the form of a loyal knight of her lady in order to ensure that later on she will be remembered and thought on kindly and with respect and possible love.

Hestia reminds her that chivalry is long since dead and that it will be time soon that the lecherous suitors start popping up again as they did before but Hecate has already planned the road ahead and create a gift further to illustrate her devotion by creating a magical solution to her problem with the seeds in the form of a potently powerful knife that can pierce but not permanently harm a Goddess' skin so she can remove Persephone's stomach and destroy the seeds that have taken root to trap her in the underworld under her curse as well as a drink that will numb the pain of the treatment and give pleasant dreams. Hestia is not convinced a roofie and a deadly weapon are sufficient courting gifts but she also says she is giving some very special things just for Persephone - a magic mirror that she can use to keep tabs on Hecate to ensure fidelity along with chains to fling her into the abyss if ever she cheated on her. A spyglass and a rope are not romantic in the slightest but a way for Persephone to grow to love and trust again via the gifts that ensure it. What else is more precious to her anyway than that?

Hestia still cautions that she should act fast before Apollo, Hermes, or Morpheus make their moves on the Goddess to make her their immortal wife or Poseidon tries yet again to mate with her - a practical reason why getting the bracelet done on time is useful she says as they enchant it with their combined magic with Hestia warming the furnace for it with ancient magic and Hecate using her own witch powers to help her along. She plans to give it to Persephone that night at the Fireworks along with the promise to remain in the Camp with her to help her with her friend's divorce as well as to care for her children who are having trouble with creating smoke bombs that block out the light in a cabin to get back at the Hermes Cabin - something she is pretty excited for because she loves her children deeply despite them being born of getting furiously drunk with their respective fathers when the hurt of seeing Persephone got too powerful to handle. She doesn't mind men or women as most Gods don't but will only ever love Persephone for the rest of her life so having children with men is a way of gaining a family before that happened as they both can't have children together thanks to Persephone being barren and a woman. She wishes to talk to them more often though because the communication mirror in their cabin is having troubles thanks to an Apollo arrow flying mistakenly into the cabin by Will Solace's mistake. Throughout this conversation, Hecate mentions random trivia as a character quirk as a Goddess of knowledge while gestulating randomly.

 

Her dark hair barely came down to her shoulders. There is a green shimmerÂ thatÂ surrounds her like an aura. Her face is like a Greek statueâ€”pale, beautiful, and ageless. one young woman in a dark, sleeveless gown. Her hair set in an Ancient Greek style high-set ponytail. Her gown seemed to ripple as if the cloth was ink spilling off and wears sandals. Carrying two old-fashioned reed [torches](http://riordan.wikia.com/wiki/Hecate%27s_Torches), she was accompanied by a [black Labrador retriever](http://riordan.wikia.com/wiki/Hecuba) and a [polecat](http://riordan.wikia.com/wiki/Gale). She was described as " _beautiful, but deathly pale_." Just her presence makes the area she is in engulfed by magic and strong condensation of the Mist.

 


	10. POV - Persephone 3

Hazel and Nico go into a nearby alley to discuss the events of yesterday and homosexuality in the modern age, that the Hecate girls cloak and place silencing runes on so they can have privacy. Persephone doesnâ€™t tell them though that she is an adept lip reader and thus can understand that Hazel just used the prior performance to get the attention back on to her so that Nico can slip away to a rendezvous location in Paris so to escape the consequences of being gay as she hands him an emergency backpack concealed in her bag full of things for Nico to escape with such as spare clothes, drachma, ambrosia, nectar, snacks, and toiletries. Nico informs her that homosexuality is legal now in the United States, but Hazel is still anxious that he is not being accepted and is therefore in danger. He remarks back that she is in danger and asks calmly for her version of yesterdayâ€™s events which she tells him haltingly as she notices him becoming more and more concerned. She asks him if he thinks she is a monster, to which he asks whether being gay made him one too? She replies back that despite what was said in Church about it being a sin, she knows Nico and judges it to be just a pack of lies just like how they use to say about black people, so sheâ€™s given up completely on religion as a result. He says that no matter what she does, Nico will always take her side as he knows siblings have each otherâ€™s backs. Resolved, they judge that the best way to handle the situation is by gaining alliances by love (Nicoâ€™s role) and strength (Hazelâ€™s role) as Nico can make friends with even the strangest of people while Hazelâ€™s newfound strength makes her ideal to portray their family with the will and power to dominate over others. They divide up potential allies between themselves with Nico taking the Apollo, Athena, and Aphrodite Cabins while Hazel takes the Hecate, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Nemesis Cabins to fight against the Demeter and other homophobic or racist campers. They decide to have Persephone as their family member, which delights Persephone, and agree to have her as a sort of cool sister/aunt as her being their mother is a little weird because of their dead mothers. Issues resolved, they remerge to head towards â€˜The Lucky Shoeâ€™ with Persephone and the Hecate girls as they speak about how badass the wolf inside of Hazel is and how Nicoâ€™s brotherly instincts are absolutely adorable kinds of hot.


End file.
